Congratulations to the new PPT Board Members, elected by our general membership to lead us 2024-2026!

Pittsburghers for Public Transit is a democratic, grassroots, member-led organization and we practice what we preach.

Each Spring into Summer, our members participate in a democratic process to determine a new group of leaders who will join our organization’s highest decision-making body: our Board of Directors. During May and June, members nominate fellow members to run for the Board. If the nomination is accepted, the member is placed on the ballot with other nominees. Then, from mid-July to our Summer Party in August, all other members in good standing cast their votes. The winners are all invited to serve a two-year term. You too can join as a member of PPT and participate in this grassroots union, voting on our Board of Directors and the annual Strategic Plan that guides all of our campaign work and organizational development!  

This democratic, participatory leadership process is at the heart of our organizing. It keeps a core team of enthusiastic and committed members at the helm. Our Board of Directors is responsible for guiding the direction of PPT’s campaigns and organizational development. 

We’re so excited to welcome this group of new and re-elected Coordinating Committee members in 2024 who’ll be leading us until 2026!

2024 Board Members elected from our General Membership

• Andrew Hussein

• Bill McDowell

• Fawn Walker Montgomery

• Ms. Pearl Hughey

• Ms. Verna Johnson

• Sue Scanlon

Andrew Hussein

image of Andrew Hussein reading a book

My name is Andrew Hussein, and I live in Penn Hills. My primary routes are 77, 79, P17, 86, and P16…. but to be truthful, you can find me on just about any route (no exaggeration) because I eat/sleep/breath/live all things public transit. Anyone who knows me knows that that is true. Transit is my sole means for transportation so I am acutely aware of the very real need for public transit to have a positive community impact. 

I am a long-time member of PPT who has been working with the org since a brief few-month stint in the early days, back in an earlier iteration of the org called “Save Our Transit”. Years later I reconnected with PPT on their community campaign in Baldwin. We won that campaign and restored service to that neighborhood and I never looked back. 

The skills that I bring to PPT are a significant all-around and general knowledge of the Port Authority system. I have a sincere passion for transit and its improvement. When I think of better transit I think of transit that is Fair, Equitable, reliable, useable, sustainable, readily and widely available – for as many folks as possible. Transit needs to fit as diverse a clientele and public needs as much as possible and I think that that is what we need to fight for together.

List of 3-5 projects or campaigns that the nominee has been involved with related to PPT, transit justice, activism, and/or movement building:

• Current Vice President of the Allegheny County Transit Council (ACTC), current Executive Committee Member, and have been involved here for 8 years
• I am also the founder and COO of the Bus Info Hotline, a Twitter and phone info line that is open for people to find out info and ask questions about Port Authority that I’ve been running for nearly 25+ years. Check out our Twitter at @PGH_BUS_INFO
• Involved in many of the successful neighborhood service campaigns started in 2014 that restored service to transit deserts through our county.
• I am a PPT Communications Committee Member. I lead the creation of our Blog Series on the Quarterly Service Updates.
• I have a significant all-around and general knowledge of the Port Authority system, PPT staff calls me all the time with questions about our system.

Bill McDowell

image description: image of Bill at a bus stop shelter holding up a fist

Bill McDowell is a long-time disability rights advocate. He has been a member of PPT for more than eight years and is passionate about equitable infrastructure, accessibility, and fair fares. 

Bill has been a member of the PRT’s Committee for Accessible Transportation for many years and in that role has listened to the concerns and needs of the disability community in depth and has learned from those conversations over the years. Bill also believes that no one should be turned away from public transportation for the inability to pay a fare. Bill’s fight for an equitable transit system in Pittsburgh has been long, but is long from over. He appreciates the ability to do the work alongside so many other passionate transit justice advocates. 

List of 3-5 projects or campaigns that the nominee has been involved with related to PPT, transit justice, activism, and/or movement building:

• PRT Committee for Accessible Transportation
• PPT Research Committee
• Fair Fares Coalition
• PPT Organizing committee – organizing for better sidewalk infrastructure

Fawn Walker Montgomery

image of Fawn Walker Montgomery with red hair and a white t-shirt

Fawn Walker-Montgomery is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Take Action Mon Valley (TAMV). She is a former candidate for Mayor in McKeesport and a past candidate for State Representative in the 35th District. Fawn was the first black person & woman to run for a State seat in the Mon Valley. She has a B.A. in Political Science from Johnson C. Smith University (HBCU) and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from Point Park University. Fawn has worked with PPT on various projects such as the BRT, fair fees, and removing cops from transit stops. She is also a past second-term Councilwoman in McKeesport and has 18 years of experience in the human services field. Fawn’s vision for PPT is that they increase membership in the smaller communities outside the City of Pittsburgh such as the Mon Valley. In addition, create specific campaigns to address the lack of transportation in these areas. Thus, having more of a county-wide focus.

List of 3-5 projects or campaigns that the nominee has been involved with related to PPT, transit justice, activism, and/or movement building:

• CEO of Take Action Advocacy Group-A Black liberation organization who has worked on various efforts such as police accountability and food insecurity.  
• Leading efforts on environmental justice in the Mon Valley and beyond. 
• Has supported various PPT projects over the years, including community organizing to defeat the Bus Rapid Transit service plan that would have cut service to her city, co-developed & launched the “Fair Fares” platform, and many more!

Ms. Pearl Hughey

image description: image of Ms. Pearl with white hair in a green shirt

Pearl Hughey is a resident of Rankin Borough, a Mon Valley community in the East portion of Pittsburgh. Over the years Pearl has been involved in many activities within her community as well as participant in activities in the Greater Pittsburgh area. Pearl was a public official in her community, a member of the Rankin Christian Center board of directors, a founding member of the Rankin Community Development Corporation and actively participated in a computer tutoring program for Woodland Hills youth. 

Most recently Pearl became involved with Pittsburgh Public Transit (PPT) when the expansion of the East Busway was being discussed. Pearl has been a transit rider for her entire work career (40+ years). She feels that transit opportunities for people in the Mon Valley are essential for the livelihood, growth and development of people that live in this region. It is important for all voices to be heard, and that is the main reason Pearl stays involved with PPT.

List of 3-5 projects or campaigns that the nominee has been involved with related to PPT, transit justice, activism, and/or movement building:

• East Busway Project
• Continued P3 Service to Swissvale Stop
• Fair Fares Coalition

Ms. Verna Johnson

image of Ms. Verna wearing glasses and smiling

My name is Verna Johnson and I am a resident of Lincoln-Lemington. I am a disability justice activist and serve as the current chair of PPT’s Board of Directors. 

I first became involved with PPT in 2015 during the campaign to save service on the 89 Garfield Service campaign. The fight for better public transit in communities receiving less and less public transit resonated with me, and I continued to join PPT meetings and joined as a member. One benefit of being a PPT member that surprised me was the democratic decision-making process, and I felt that my lived experience was valued. I began to see how people from different walks of life could work together and make decisions that directed campaigns and the course of PPT. I have helped grow PPT by organizing riders during my time on the board. Being a board member has given me a greater understanding of how change can happen on a systemic level. 

In addition to working on issues surrounding transit justice, I have been co-chair of the Allegheny County Coalition for Recovery’s Commission on Health and Human Services as co-chair and helped people receive financial assistance. I’ve also rallied outside of elected officials’ offices to support federal workers during the previous government shutdown with fellow members. I also phonebank with Just Harvest and register community members to vote at Veterans Affairs. I am deeply committed to bringing more people into the fight for transit justice and holding our transit agency accountable to the riders and workers.

List of 3-5 projects or campaigns that the nominee has been involved with related to PPT, transit justice, activism, and/or movement building:

• 89 Service Restoration Campaign 
• #FairFare for a full recovery in 2020
• Don’t Criminalize Transit Fares campaign
• Canvassing at transit stops, talking with riders, and public speaking on behalf of PPT

Sue Scanlon

image description: photo of Sue Scanlon

I absolutely love PPT. I am so proud of all the work we’ve done to defend jobs, expand routes, and help passengers. The work we have done over the last 10+ years has saved the whole community because we connect people to the things they need in our city and region. We have built such a community with our organizing. It feels like being part of a superhero squad.

I have been a bus operator at Port Authority (ahem, I mean, Pittsburgh Regional Transit) for 22 years. I have seen the agency during its highs and its very lows. Unfortunately, we are now at one of those lows. I want to continue being part of the movement to fix it. I consider myself a pretty good activist. I have the conviction to be out in the street, although I am always learning as an organizer. 

How can we bring people together with love and consciousness to fight for our common good? When I look to the future of PPT, I want to see us keep building our base of organizers and activists. We are going to keep spreading our message across the city, state, and the entire country. We will remain on the cutting edge of activism for transit justice. 

Our movement isn’t about me or any individual person. It is about what we can all do when we work together. It is about building a better world out of the situation we are in today. Everything is about community.

List of 3-5 projects or campaigns that the nominee has been involved with related to PPT, transit justice, activism, and/or movement building:

• The very first campaign I was involved with was restoring transit service in Baldwin, circa 2014. It was such a great campaign because it showed how communities can come together to fight for each other’s needs.
• I was also involved in the fights for Act 89, rallies Downtown, and Squirrel Hill, circa 2011. We shut down Forbes Avenue and Murray Avenue. It was an example of how labor and organize together with communities to improve service and jobs.
• In 2020 and 2021 I helped my ATU brothers and sisters start and eventually win the right to wear Black Lives Matter masks on the job. We staged protests and brought the case to court. You can read more about the win here.
• I’ve also been involved with helping other unions in solidarity – I started the campaign for workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to get a contract. Helped organize PPT members to picket in front of John Block’s house and at the Post Gazette. Met a ton of great people in this work.
• I also represent PPT on the PA Poor Peoples Campaign steering committee. I have traveled to DC, I don’t even remember how many times, to fight for the working class. I have been working to help people realize we’re all in this together and that we all have to work together to get what we need.

Take action now to support the newly proposed PRTner Pass to establish a permanent employer and developer transit fare program that could mean free transit for workers and tenants in Allegheny County!

We at Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) celebrate the opening of the public comment period for the long-awaited bulk employer and developer discount fare program, or the “PRTner Pass.” At the July 26th Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) board meeting, PRT announced the proposal of a new fare program for employers, schools and developers to purchase bus passes for all their employees, renters and students, at the deeply discounted cost of $28/month per person.

This program has the potential to provide working class people across the county unlimited transit passes- freedom of movement- that will both save money on their existing transit trips and incentivize more travel by transit. Moreover, it will increase the amount of dedicated operating revenue for the agency, through new transit fare payments by corporations and developers, large non-profits, and even municipalities like the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

For too long, Pittsburgh Regional Transit has relied on regressive user fees for operating revenue to run transit service: at $2.75 a trip, fares can be a huge cost burden on riders, many of whom are low-income or working class, and the high cost of fares lowers ridership because many passengers cannot afford to pay for all the trips that they would otherwise choose to take. It’s a no-brainer for PRT to sell bulk transit passes at a discount to employers, particularly because there is excess capacity on buses and trains- PRT gets new revenue and new ridership, with no added costs.

It’s time for our transit agency to stop leaving this money on the table. In the Seattle region, more than half of the Sound Transit total fare revenue comes from bulk discount employer fare purchases similar to the PRTner Pass. 

If you are a renter, a worker, an employer, and school board representative, a developer or anyone else that could benefit from the availability of a bulk discount fare program, we need you to share your story about why we need the PRTner Pass!

Support the PRTner Pass program by submitting your comment here, or by registering to speak at the PRT Public Hearing on Thursday, September 12th from 1-3 pm!

This proposal is a win that came from years of organizing, now it's time to make it real!

Here in Allegheny County, a bulk fare discount program has long been a demand of riders. We have known that there is a big demand by employers, schools and developers to buy transit passes, to provide a benefit similar to the student pass programs at CMU, Pitt and Pittsburgh Public Schools. Since 2019 and the launch of our Fair Fares Platform, PPT has called for Pittsburgh Regional Transit to offer common-sense fare products (we called them “fare incentive programs”) that would increase both revenue and ridership for the agency. 

We have envisioned opportunities for large employers like UPMC to purchase passes for their workers, helping ease some of the transportation costs on our region’s healthcare staff and reducing the need for shuttles and parking lots that increase congestion and disallow more housing or commercial developments in the city. For service employees like those at Giant Eagle or janitors in the downtown office buildings, monthly transit passes could be a substantial commuter benefit, but it could also be used for all sorts of necessary trips outside of the workplace- for recreation and childcare, for grocery shopping and healthcare appointments. 

At the Giant Eagle Shakespeare site at Shady and Penn, we have organized since 2018 for bulk passes to be purchased for all renters in the future housing development, to reduce the demand for structured parking, and to increase transit usage in one of the most transit-rich corridors in the County. This demand was included in our 100 Days Transit Platform for Mayor Gainey in 2021 and our Riders Demands for the Next County Executive in 2023. And in February of this year, we made bulk discount employer fares- like this PRTner Pass proposal- a cornerstone of our goal to have elected officials play their part to fund transit at all levels, by calling on the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to purchase passes for their employees. 

It’s not over the finish line yet! Speak up for the PRTner Pass program by submitting your comment here, or by testifying at the PRT Public Hearing on Thursday, September 12th from 1-3 pm!

PPT Member Lorena takes it to the airwaves to talk about her transit organizing with Pittsburgh's Latino Community

La Mega Pittsburgh sat down with one of our PPT members who has shown herself to be a leader in her community, and ours. Lorena has been working fiercely to get the Latino community in Pittsburgh connected to transit resources and to bring Spanish language access to the transit system in our county. Along with PPT and Case San José Lorena has been a driving force in planning and implementing the Transit Tours showing Latino residents and their families the ins and outs of the PRT transit system. We are so proud and excited that Lorena got to share with La Mega the work that she has been doing with us.

Through Lorena and PPT’s other member-led organizing there have been some crucial wins for Latino households in Allegheny County.

Transit System Wins for the Latino Community and Beyond

One win has been the integration of the Spanish language throughout our transit system including: bilingual stations along the Red Line have gained Spanish language access, as well as Spanish access on PRT’s Customer Service line (412-422-2000), and Spanish language info on some LED info boards along the Red Line.

Another win has been that after years of fighting for free fares came a pilot which demonstrated how access to transit without the barriers of fares dramatically improved the lives of transit riders. This year Allegheny County won a permanent half fare program.

In addition, after the terrible shutdown of the Red Line in 2022-2023 left passengers stranded in the cold, relying on shuttles that were completely unreliable and there was no communication from Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT), much less communication in Spanish, groups like PPT and Casa San Jose fought hard to make it known that this was not acceptable and this year when they were going to announce the Red Line repairs to the community, they reached out to PPT and Casa to help organize a community meeting and spread the message. That meeting was well-attended and prepared residents for the changes in the transit system that they knew would heavily impact their day to day lives.

Lastly, as previously mentioned, Pittsburghers for Public Transit and Casa San Jose are organizing Transit Tours for Latinos who have just arrived in the area, to help orient them to our public transportation system, how to get to important destinations and general customs in this new city. Lorena says that she has seen people’s lives change after these tours.

How You Can Help Your Community, Too

The work doesn’t end here. While we’ve had wins, we look forward to continuing to work closely with our Latino community and organizers in that community to bring transit justice to that community, along with many others. One way we know we can deliver on improving transit is by providing a roadmap for Visionary Transit Service. That’s why PPT has recently launched its Visionary Transit Service campaign, because we know that visionary transit is possible, necessary and transformative to the residents of our county.

To get involved in envisioning transit service that we know is possible please visit our website: pittsburghforpublictransit.org/vts to share your story with us and read the report from PPT’s research committee on Visionary Transit Service. Thank you to Lorena for sharing some of PPT’s vision with her community and with La Mega Pittsburgh radio. We hope to see you out there with us fighting for your community soon. The work continues!

Listen to the full interview with Lorena Peña and La Mega Pittsburgh here: