On October 23rd Pittsburghers for Public Transit came together with Put People First!- PA for a great event to learn the history of Dr. Martin Luther Kings Poor Peoples Campaign, the last campaign he worked on before his assassination. Put People First! PA is an organization committed to fighting for universal healthcare in PA.
The Poor Peoples Campaign brought together people of every race to fight against poverty. Dr. King realized that it wasn’t enough to just be able to vote or integrate schools or lunch counters or public transit. As long as we saw the poor of each race as different than one another we would never succeed in ending poverty. He is quoted as saying “We have moved from the era of civil rights to an era of human rights.”
Organizations like PPT and Put People First all over the country are working in collaboration with the New Poor Peoples Campaign to achieve the equitable future that Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned. Thank you to Put People First and all the PPT members that joined the discussion: we look forward to future collaboration!
“Jonah McAllister-Erickson of Pittsburghers for Public Transit said, ‘We probably could use better public transit, but this is not the solution. Micro transit projects have been a complete flop’ in other cities, with low ridership and high operating costs.”
An article was written by Margaret J. Krauss published by WESA entitled “How Fare-Capping Could Make Transit More Equitable”. It did an incredible job of describing the ways Port Authority’s current fare system cost low-income folks more for access the same transit as their more wealthy counterparts.
“‘A lot of people can’t shell out the cash up front for a pass, and often end up paying more than it’s worth’, said Emily Cleath of Just Harvest, a nonprofit organization which addresses hunger through economic disparity. Cleath spoke at a recent meeting of transit riders in Rankin.
‘Instead of having to ration their rides or pay more than other people for the same service, a fare-capping system would ensure that our lowest income riders are not paying more for the system, simply because they can’t afford a pass.'”
On July 25 a group of incredible Brookline transit riders and a bus operator presented over 550 petition signatures and resident testimony to the Port Authority board, requesting additional Saturday service hours and the restoration of Sunday bus service on the 39. Those same transit riders and operator will be meeting with Councilman Anthony Coghill on August 28th with the hope that he will help encourage Port Authority to restore this vital weekend service to his thriving business district.
Of the many service request asked of port authority, the restoration of the 39 weekend service would be among the cheapest to implement while still providing maximum benefit to the residents and businesses of Brookline. We are hoping for a pilot implementation to establish ridership, and then as long ridership is high we believe that the route should be restored permanently. PPT would like to thank Tom Conroy, Nora Kelly, Sheron Duff, Tish Newman, Bob and Jackie Cohn and Pat DeSimone for their contributions to getting this route back on the road!
Thank you to all those who joined us on the evening of June 25 to celebrate and lead the way for a more equitable, affordable and accessible public transit for all!
Rankin Resident Pearl Hughey talking about the importance of fare equity and ensuring that low-income riders don’t have to pay more for the same essential service.
See the Riders’ Vision for Public Transi tand Join the Campaign to fight for dedicated connections from the East Busway to Monroeville and McKeesport, free transfers and fare equity, free fare days across Summer 2019 using Clean Air Fund money, and winning policies connecting good transit to affordable housing. The work is only just beginning, and you all are key to making it happen. You can sign up on our website or you can email me, at laura@pittsburghforpublictransit.org, to get involved!
Join us! Sign up on our main page to take part in any of the four planks of the Riders’ Transit Vision: Transit as A Roadmap for Economic Opportunity, A Foundation for Equity, A Solution for Air Quality and Climate Change, and A Vital Link for Quality, Affordable Housing.
On June 25th, PPT and Mon Valley Initiative will hold a Celebration and Launch of a Transit Riders’ Vision for how our region could build a more accessible, affordable, and equitable transit network that allows our communities not merely to survive, but thrive.
We will celebrate the restoration of the 59 bus to the Hilltop Parkview Apartments in Duquesne, and the important preservation of the frequency of the 61 A, B, &C bus lines and their direct access to downtown with Port Authority’s Bus Rapid Transit plan. Over the course of this past year, thousands of bus riders, bus drivers, elected officials and borough councils, religious and community organizations came together across the Mon Valley to ensure that the lifeline 61 and 71 buses would not face nearly 50% frequency cuts and mandatory transfers to go downtown, with no other alternatives to get there. After dozens of powerful testimonials in the Port Authority, URA, and County Council board rooms, hundreds of postcards and sign-on petition signatures were submitted, riders’ voices were heard! In addition, bus riders in the Hilltop Parkview Apartments in Duquesne will see the first 59 bus stop at their doorstep on June 17th, which will restore their critical connection to food, employment, healthcare and so many other vital needs. Residents submitted more than 150 letters to the Port Authority sharing their stories of their inability to access the grocery store less than a mile away, and the treacherous conditions they had to endure to walk to the nearest bus stop.
We celebrate that the Port Authority and regional elected leadership listened to the needs of our most vulnerable communities, and ensured that these bus riders would not see any additional barriers to their connections to life.
But these are only the first steps towards a vibrant, growing transit system that provides for better economic development, more equity for our most marginalized communities, and addresses pressing climate and air quality challenges.
At this event, Pittsburghers for Public Transit and Mon Valley Initiative will announce and lay out the Four Planks of The Riders’ Vision and ask our community leaders to join us in taking next steps for ambitious, proven and achievable measures to grow transit ridership in Allegheny County.
We hope that you can join us! There will be light food and refreshments, and childcare, transportation and deaf-interpretation services will also be available upon request. Please RSVP here by Thursday June 21st.
Port Authority Heeds Public, Makes Changes to BRT Plan New plan, federal grant application will better serve Mon Valley communities
Rankin, PA — On Thursday night, at a standing-room only meeting in Rankin, Port Authority of Allegheny County presented its new bus service plan for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. Hundreds of riders, bus drivers, anti-hunger, public transit, and disability advocates, and a wide range of Mon Valley organizations, businesses, elected officials, and other stakeholders have mobilized for months to raise concerns about proposed frequency cuts to critical bus lines serving the Mon Valley and mandatory transfers for Mon Valley riders to reach downtown.
After assuring the audience that there would be no cuts to the frequency of the 61 ABC buses, nor forced transfers in Oakland, Port Authority CEO Katherine Eagan Kelleman affirmed the public nature of our transit system, “We don’t own this service, we run this. You own this service,” she said. “If it doesn’t meet your needs, we did it wrong.” Mon Valley Initiative, Just Harvest, and Pittsburghers for Public Transit applaud this example of leadership that reiterates Port Authority’s accountability and responsibility to the public.
As one woman in the audience said, “People tell us that we’re lazy, but we want to work. It’s very hard to get a job when there is not a bus to get you there!” Public transit plays a critical role in providing low-income under-served communities access to jobs and fresh food. Those involved with efforts to get Port Authority to listen to those communities say they will continue to insist that those most affected by service decisions be at the table for decision-making. Several audience members pointed out that the original plan had been developed without Mon Valley stakeholders after ignoring years of input by those who rely on public transit the most.
Mon Valley Initiative was among the groups that joined Just Harvest and Pittsburghers for Public Transit to advocate for bus riders in Homestead, Swissvale, Braddock and Duquesne, as well as other under-served communities that would have been adversely affected by the original BRT proposal.
“A robust public transit system is important to the Mon Valley’s future,” said Laura R. Zinski, chief executive officer of Mon Valley Initiative, a regional community development organization based in Homestead which also partners with local community development groups in three counties.
“We’re glad that so many Mon Valley residents spoke out about their need for transit, and we’re grateful to the Port Authority for responding to their concerns,” Zinski said. “We look forward to working together with Port Authority, Just Harvest, PPT and other stakeholders on these issues.”
Just Harvest, Pittsburghers for Public Transit, and Mon Valley Initiative urge Port Authority and our city and county governments to revise their criteria for service and development decisions to include equitable access to healthy food, affordable housing, schools, health care, living wage jobs, and other vital needs and human rights, so that we do not have to keep fighting these battles for basic fairness. We urge our public agencies and elected officials to honor and enforce civil rights laws not only in words, but through deliberate and inclusive planning as well.
We stand with the hundreds of people who made their voices heard through phone calls, postcards, letters, rallies, press conferences, and at PAAC, URA and County Council meetings. “There can be no clearer and more convincing example of the power of collective action to protect people’s well-being. When we fight together, we win!” said Helen Gerhardt.
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MON VALLEY INITIATIVE is a non-profit community and economic development organization that works to unite the communities and restore the economic vitality of the Mon Valley.
JUST HARVEST has been improving government’s response to hunger and poverty in Allegheny County since 1986, by improving public policy, increasing community food access, and building community power.
PITTSBURGHERS FOR PUBLIC TRANSIT is a grassroots organization of transit riders, workers and residents who fight for accessible, affordable and equitable public transit.
*Image of trees, Hazelwood Green (Almano) site, bridge and the Cathedral of Learning by Darrell Sapp, photographer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
A public meeting to discuss the possibilities for the Mon Oakland connector raised some serious concerns about the lack of transparency around goals, the fact that this service threatens to compete with Port Authority rather than enhance it, and that there is no talk about the impact of autonomous vehicles on transit jobs. There is also no public discussion about costs to taxpayers (particularly the cost per rider), and the lack of accountability inherent to public-private partnerships.
PPT member Jonah McCallister-Erickson was quoted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the project. “Jonah McAllister, spokesman for Pittsburghers for Public Transit, likes the idea of faster connections for Hazelwood, Greenfield and Oakland, and says the plan has gotten better after two years of citizen input. But he’d like to see more involvement of the Port Authority because public-private partnerships ‘could slowly starve the greater system,’ Mr. McAllister said.”
The City of Pittsburgh is calling for feedback about the proposed “Mon-Oakland connector” at this email address: 4milerun.mobility@pittsburghpa.gov by March 6th. The website also has a presentation with their proposed routing and a chart showing the City’s preference for autonomous microtransit vehicles over buses.
We encourage folks to write to 4milerun.mobility@pittsburghpa.gov, particularly to ask why the Port Authority is not being invited to be a key planning entity in this process.
*Picture of around 40 61 A,B, & C campaign stakeholders and bus riders seated in the Braddock Library in a semi-circle, planning next steps for the fight to protect local bus service.
Last week, Next City wrote an article about Pittsburgh’s BRT plans and the concerns around cuts to the Mon Valley, quoting Laura Wiens as saying “’As transit advocates, there are certainly things to like about BRT”…’We definitely like the idea of bus only lanes and transit signal prioritization and electric buses. The sidewalk and pedestrian infrastructure improvements all make sense to us.’
But, she continues, ‘Our concern is it’s a huge capital investment project that’s undermining transit service for our most transit-dependent riders.’”
And three Pittsburgh news outlets raised the issue of proposed cuts to the 61 bus lines last week to the Port Authority and municipal representatives, unprompted by PPT or Just Harvest actions: the Trib, Post-Gazette, and WESA all asked about the impacts of cuts to local bus service with the BRT project. The campaign has taken on a life of its own!
