What a year it’s been! I’m so proud of everything Pittsburghers for Public Transit achieved in 2024, especially given the challenges we faced. And we did it all thanks to our members. That’s PPT’s special sauce: we’re not just a public service organization, we’re a grassroots union of transit riders, workers, and neighbors here in Allegheny County. 

When you become a member of PPT, you power our fight for an expanded, affordable, and accessible public transit system that serves all of us, with no communities left behind.

Here are some highlights of our wins over the past year. As you read, remember that YOU are part of the WE that made it happen. In 2024, your membership, activism, and passion have carried PPT through to the finish line.

January-February

• We brought our Representing Our Routes advocacy campaign to our legislators 
• We celebrated Transit Equity Day on Feb. 5 
• We launched our Community Audit of Bus Shelters
• We created our McKnight Road Safety Petition to demand that PennDOT restore bus stops and improve pedestrian infrastructure on McKnight Road

SHOUTOUT to Jess Benner for combining strategic planning and yoga to help PPT staff stay flexible in our work and our bodies!

March

• We celebrated Transit Worker Appreciation Day on March 18 by canvassing, handing out candy, and gathering stories about service issues 
• We won our fight to restart the City of Pittsburgh’s Complete Streets Advisory Group, which the city allowed to lapse in 2019

SHOUTOUT to Alisa Grishman for stellar work with the Complete Streets Advisory Group!

April

• We mobilized 100+ transit riders, workers, and political leaders to rally with us and our partners in the Transit for All PA! Campaign in Harrisburg
• We held a statewide Digital Day of Action on Earth Day on Apr. 22

SHOUTOUTS to Kelda Gorman for delivering an inspirational speech in Harrisburg and Erik Love for bringing 10 activists from Carlisle, PA, to Harrisburg!

May

• We held our first-ever Spring Training for Members which brought activists from around the country together for a day of workshops and skill-building
• We witnessed the rollout of the Allegheny Go low income fares program we’ve spent years advocating for

SHOUTOUTS to Miss Pearl Hughey and her grandchildren for making our Spring Training a success and Miss Sherai Richardson for making a powerful impact in expressing the value of the Allegheny Go program the media and public officials!

June

• We held our Allegheny Go Launch Party at Trace Brewing with 60 of our coalition partners there to celebrate  
• We and our partners in Transit for All PA! mobilized our communities to send hundreds of digital lobbying letters that upped the pressure on Governor Shapiro to fund transit
• We partnered with Casa San Jose to host Transit Tours for new residents and show them the routes, despite closures on the Red Line.

SHOUTOUTS to Evelyn Ulysse, Bernadette Mosey, and transit advocates in Beechview for bringing PRT to the table, getting word out to riders, and making these closures go as smoothly as possible!

July

• We held our Summer Member Drive and elected a new Board of Directors. 
• We won big when our own Bobbie Fan was appointed to the board of Pittsburgh Regional Transit.

SHOUTOUT to Bobbie Fan for his fearless advocacy for public transit!

August

• We launched our Allegheny County Campaign for Visionary Transit Service, which sets goals for a future transit system that really works for people. 
• We held our Summer Party which brought us together and brought in many new members.

SHOUTOUTS to Tayveon Kevin Smith and the incredible team from Tech for Society for help with our Visionary Transit Service Campaign and Denise Johnson for helping to make our Summer Party a success!

September

• We built up to our Week Without Driving by highlighting testimonials, gathering sign-ons, and building relationships with new partner organizations 
• We continued our Community Audit of Bus Shelters and Transit Tours for new residents. 

SHOUTOUT to Jacob Evangelista and Miss Damitra Harris-Penny for making our Week Without Driving a success and Jim Keener for keeping our website safe and secure!

October

• We held our Week Without Driving from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7
• We launched our PPT Movie Night, with a screening of the film “Union”
• We started organizing our response to PRT’s Busline Redesign

SHOUTOUTS to Seth Bush and the Tech for Society team for helping us make a splash with our Busline Redesign response!

November

• We won $153 million in state funds to save SEPTA (Philly’s public transit system) through our letter-writing and phone-banking campaigns
• We launched our worker organizing fellowship with four fellows: James Hanna, Monica Wheeler, Tom Conroy, and Vincent Brandon
• We overflowed our Zoom limit in our monthly meeting when we hosted PRT representatives to discuss the Busline Redesign

SHOUTOUT to Abishek Vaswanathan for all his work researching bus shelter placements and the Busline Redesign!

December

• We won a first ever budget for bus shelters and transit infrastructure from the City Council
• We convinced Pittsburgh to establish a partner pass program that provides bulk bus passes to municipal employees
• We stood with our partners in the housing justice community to advocate for affordable housing at city government 

SHOUTOUT to Bill McDowell for all his activism throughout the year!

These amazing wins are just the start. In 2025, we’re going to advocate for the Visionary Transit Service campaign we developed in August. We’re done with PRT cutting service and driving down ridership while claiming scarcity. It’s time to fund a community vision of what transit can and should be. It’s time to make PRT work for the people.

Join us in this fight! The minimum cost of joining is just $2.75, the same as one ride on PRT. And this year, the Posner Foundation has offered to match every contribution made during our Year End Member Drive up to $10,000. Turn your $100 into $200. Turn your $500 into $1,000! 

Ride with us today, and make your donation monthly!

My name is Marcus McKnight. I’m a bus driver in Philadelphia and I co-founded the Philly Transit Riders Union. Are you wondering why I’m chiming in for Pittsburghers for Public Transit? Well let me tell you!

Pittsburghers for Public Transit helps  lead the statewide Transit for All PA! Campaign, which is organizing AND WINNING resources for public transit across our state. Transit riders and transit workers know what we need and are building power by organizing together!

I love being a bus driver. I get to meet people from around the state, the country, and even the world. When tourists get on my bus, I always ask: Where are you from? If I visit, what should I see and do? I make them feel proud of their hometown and tell them what makes me proud to be from Philly. The local and the global meet each other on my bus. And it’s public transit that brings us all together. 

Last month, the Transit for All PA! campaign had a major win for public transit here in Philadelphia. Gov. Josh Shapiro directed the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to flex $153 million in federal highway funds to fill SEPTA’s budget gap. I went to Harrisburg with T4APA! activists to lobby for funds. I asked our elected officials the same question I ask my out-of-town riders: If I visit your town, what should I see and do? I said, “That sounds great! But what about folks who don’t drive? How can they get there?” I saw it click for them. And then we got our funding.

This win felt awesome! But I know it’s only a drop in the bucket. There are 67 counties in Pennsylvania, and ALL of us need good public transit. Whether we live in a city, a town, or a rural area, public transit should be our FIRST option for getting seamlessly from Point A to Point B.

This is statewide funding, and it needs to be a statewide fight. By bottomlining the T4APA! Coalition, PPT is making sure that folks from Pittsburgh to Stroudsburg and beyond have accessible, affordable, and sustainable public transit that works for everyone.

The fight for public transit takes all of us. As a bus driver, I know that the best way to make change is for us all to get on the bus and demand better. Riders, drivers, and community members across the state have important stories that need to be told. T4APA! is the vehicle that brings our stories to our elected officials and makes sure our voices are heard.

When you support PPT, you’re supporting a grassroots coalition that works statewide to make our public transit systems work. The minimum cost of joining PPT is just $2.75, the same as one ride on PRT. And this year, the Posner Foundation has offered to match every contribution made during our Year End Member Drive up to $10,000. Turn your $100 into $200. Turn your $500 into $1,000! 

Ride with us today, and make your donation monthly!

My name is Kelda Gorman, and I’m an activist member of Pittsburghers for Public Transit. This year, PPT launched its Visionary Transit Service campaign, which invites riders like you and me to reimagine what our transit system should be. I’m so excited to be part of this fight. Can I count on you to fight with me?

As a disabled rider who can’t drive for safety reasons, I’m highly reliant on Pittsburgh Regional Transit. For me and so many others the bus is not a convenience—it’s a necessity. If my bus doesn’t come, the lift doesn’t work, or the driver doesn’t know how to secure the safety restraints, I’m stuck. Literally. And even when all those factors fall into place, I’m still afraid for my safety. 

I invest in PPT because I know our transit service can do better. PPT’s Visionary Transit Service campaign helps me dream big about:

• Efficiency: Buses should run frequently and on time, so we don’t have to “gamble at the bus stop” wondering when or if a bus will come
• Safety: All drivers should be fully trained in how to use wheelchair safety restraints and be empowered to safely intervene when a rider is being attacked
• Accessibility: PRT should maintain a large enough fleet of paratransit vehicles and drivers so folks like me can call for service one hour in advance, rather than the 24-48 hours required now.

I know this all takes money. But the secret is: our government HAS the money! It’s up to us to convince them to allocate it to PRT. I experienced this first hand when I joined PPT’s lobbying trip to Harrisburg this year. One of our elected representatives told us that hearing about transit troubles directly from constituents brought it home to him in a new way. We put a human face on this issue and helped him understand why we need a fully-funded, inclusive vision for public transit. 

Join us as we Visualize and Mobilize for a community vision of what transit can and should be. The minimum cost of joining PPT is  just $2.75, the same as one ride on PRT. And this year, the Posner Foundation has offered to match every contribution made during our Year End Member Drive up to $10,000. Turn your $100 into $200. Turn your $500 into $1,000! 

Ride with us today, and make your donation monthly!

My name is Bobbie Fan, and I’m a proud member of Pittsburghers for Public Transit. I was recently appointed to represent riders on Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s Governing Board. This feels like the work I was meant to do: ensuring that PRT meets the needs of all residents in Allegheny County. To speak up for riders like you, I need to hear your voice. Can I count on you to raise your voice by joining PPT?

Membership is the anchor of PPT’s transformative activism. When you become a member, you become an integral part of our grassroots union of transit riders, workers, and neighbors. As your representative on the PRT Board, I need you to join because:

• I need to hear YOUR voice! I need to know what everyday riders want and need, so I can advocate for an expanded, affordable, accessible public transit system that serves ALL residents of Allegheny County.
• I need to make PRT hear your voice! On my own, I’m just another Board member. Every new member who joins PPT amplifies my voice and ensures that the people speak louder than special interests.
• This is how we build power! The more we stand together as a union, the more our elected officials will have to listen to us as we push back against manufactured austerity.

In 2025, we’re going to push PRT even harder with our Visionary Transit Service campaign. For decades, transit riders have called on elected leaders to provide accessible, expansive transit that meets our community’s economic, environmental and public health needs. Instead, they’ve cut routes and services, driving down ridership while claiming scarcity. Well, we’re done with PRT telling us what’s possible. It’s time to fund a community vision of what transit can and should be. Join us in this fight.

The minimum cost of joining is just $2.75, the same as one ride on PRT. And this year, the Posner Foundation has offered to match every contribution made during our Year End Member Drive up to $10,000. Turn your $100 into $200. Turn your $500 into $1,000! 

Ride with us today, and make your donation monthly! It’s time to make PRT work for the people.