Image description: big red keystone shape with the text “Take Action! Stop Transit Cuts Now! in bold”
BREAKING: In reaction to the budget shortfall proposed by Governor Shapiro earlier this Spring, PRT has detailed sweeping service cuts and fare increases that could devastate Pittsburgh’s public transit system starting as early as 2026. Send your letter now to stop these cuts
Under these proposals, the entire system would see a 35% decrease in service and a 9% increase in fares. Paratransit service would be cut a staggering 62%, and fares increased 20%.
We know that transit is a public necessity, connecting people across our region–no matter their neighborhood, income level, or ability–to jobs, healthcare, food, and community. The state government’s budget proposal will revoke access to these lifelines for thousands.
Alongside our partner coalition Transit For All PA!, we’re calling on our elected officials to find a stable, alternative funding source for public transit–one that restores transit funding and service to pre-2019 levels across the state, from Pittsburgh to Erie to Philly and everywhere in between.
Will you take action with us by sending a letter to your state representatives?
By phone: Call PRT’s public comment inbox at 412-566-5525. Be sure to leave your name, zip code, and a message.
On paper: You can fill out a paper survey at PRT’s downtown service center (623 Smithfield St, Pittsburgh, PA 15222) OR Mail your written comment to this address: Pittsburgh Regional Transit ATTN: Funding Crisis 345 Sixth Ave, 3rd floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222
In person: PRT will be hosting three public hearings to gather comments from the public about the proposed cuts. You can sign up for these hearings using this link, although walk-ins are also welcome. The hearings will take place on:
We’ve put together a toolkit so that you can organize your community around these proposed cuts! There’s never been a more critical time to grow our movement for equitable transit service that moves all of us. We’ve got flyers to post in your neighborhood, slides for presenting to your community group, tools for hosting meetings with your state legislators, and more!
In the last 5 years, PRT has already quietly cut 20% of its service, and with it, communities as diverse as McKeesport, Greentree, and Monroeville are already struggling to reach jobs, healthcare, food, and community. If we further reduce service and increase fares to the proposed extent, the system will become effectively unusable for riders in our area. Riders are already seeing wait times of up to an hour for their daily commutes, and many riders are simply not able to afford that level of uncertainty. PRT generates over $700 million each year, supporting over 5,000 jobs. We cannot afford to cut that generator down by 35 or 60 percent.
Transit riders are ready with a response that meets the scale of the crisis. The crisis is statewide: the state budget doesn’t just affect Pittsburghers, but also people riding SEPTA to work in Philadelphia, elders moving around their communities safely in Erie, and disabled community members using paratransit in Harrisburg. It’s all the same state budget, so the solution needs to be statewide.
Our statewide, rider-led coalition, Transit for All PA!, is organizing for new, dedicated funding sources at the state level to fund the service riders need in order to use the system. We’re calling on state legislators to find a new, stable source of funding for public transit, which would restore transit service across the state to 2019 levels–and even improve transit access in communities outside Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
A new funding structure is possible, and we’re ready to bring this challenge to legislators. Are you ready to meet this moment with us? Join us at our next meeting to organize with riders across the state!
image description: text reads “National Transit Advocacy Spring Training, April 25-25, 2025 Pittsburgh, PA” with emojies of a raised fit, PPT’s icon, and a red heart. Photos of PPT members at rallies, parties, and canvass days.
Get your tickets today! Join riders and workers from across the US at the National Transit Advocacy Spring Training, April 25th and 26th in Pittsburgh, PA!
Get ready for the 2025 National Transit Advocacy Spring Training! Riders, workers and transit supporters from across the country will meet in Pittsburgh, PA April 25th and 26th and YOU are invited!
Transit can transform our communities – but it is up to us as organizers to build the grassroots movement to make it happen!
This April, you are invited to join Pittsburghers for Public Transit and advocates from across the City, County State, and Nation at our second annual National Transit Advocacy Spring Training. We will have workshops on telling a compelling transit story to elected leaders and using it to win your demands; transit worker organizing and building common cause with riders; taking transit service demands into a state funding fight; galvanizing municipal elected officials to support transit riders with land use and infrastructure demands… and more! This organizing training day will have workshops led by local advocates and advocates outside of Pittsburgh, and will have topics relevant to transit organizers at all levels and all regions.
We will host a pre-training day Transit Tour and happy hour on Fri, April 25th, and then have a morning plenary, workshops and a mobile tour throughout the day Saturday April 26th. Space is limited and pre-registration is required for Friday evening’s Transit Tour. A bus pass will be provided for your adventure with us! You do NOT need to attend the Transit Tour to join us at happy hour, where you’ll enjoy a complimentary beverage and hors d’oeuvres. On Saturday you can expect continental breakfast, hot lunches and afternoon snacks.
Last day to register for Spring Training is Friday 4/18/25.
The hotel is very easily accessible from the airport via public transit. It is about a four-minute walk or roll from the Fifth Ave and Tennyson Ave PRT stop, which is serviced by the following routes:
54 Northside-Oakland-Southside
58 Greenfield
61A North Braddock
61B Braddock-Swissvale
61C McKeesport-Homestead
61D Murray
67 Monroeville
69 Trafford
71A Negley
71B Highland Park
71C Point Breeze
71D Hamilton
75 Ellsworth
81 Oak Hill
83 Bedford Hill
93 Lawrenceville-Hazelwood
P3 East Busway-Oakland
If any of these transportation modes are cost-prohibitive for you, contact PPT to discuss options, at 551-206-3320 or info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org by April 23, 2025.
Accessibility Information
The Courtyard Pittsburgh University Center has accessible onsite parking and an accessible main entrance. All meeting areas are accessible, and there are elevators throughout the building. More information about their accessibility features can be found on their web page.
Food and Drink:
At happy hour on Friday let PPT buy your first round! There will be hors d’oeuvres too! Food will be brought out before 6pm (if you arrive on the later side there is no guarantee there will be food left). If you are curious about Aslin Beer Company’s menu you can take a look at it here.
On Saturday, PPT will provide a continental breakfast for participants in the morning, lunch, and snacks towards the end of the day.
PPT will label provided food with common allergens.
COVID-19 Procedures:
Masks are encouraged indoors at our events and will be available on-site at check-in. We also encourage everyone to take an at-home COVID-19 rapid test before arriving. Please stay home if you are feeling sick or have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19. The Courtyard Pittsburgh University Center has on-site parking, elevators, and accessible public entrances.
National Transit Advocacy Training Workshops and Presenters
Transit Tour and Spring Training Kick-off Happy Hour Kick-off Happy Hour at Aslin Beer, 1801 Smallman St Pre-Kickoff Transit Tour, 3:30 start @ 4836 Ellsworth Transit Tour led by:
Pittsburghers for Public Transit is excited to welcome public transit advocates, transit riders and workers, movement leaders, and champions for the freedom of movement to our Spring Training this year! Let’s get moving.
Come on a transit tour tailored just for you! PPT members guide us on a transit tour beginning at the Pittsburghers for Public Transit office and ending near our final destination in time for a happy hour mixer at Aslin Beer Company, from 5:00-7:00pm with our members and friends. Our guides lead us through local landmarks, service itself, our geography’s impact on modes of transit, and PPT’s vision of all the potential our system could hold.
We invite our local and visiting guests to mingle before the big day of workshops. Join us for chit-chat, cocktails, hor d’evours, and table activities at Aslin Beer Company in The Strip District. The first round is on us! #TGIF
Saturday, 4/26 10:15 AM – 11:45 AM // Workshop Block 1, advocates choose from:
Developing Strong Transit Worker-Rider Alliances Across Campaigns Workshop led by
In this workshop, led by Pittsburghers for Public Transit’s 2025 Transit Worker Fellows, you will learn concrete strategies for collaborating with transit workers. Explore why this community matters, their viewpoints, common threads of solidarity, navigating concerns when collaborating and how to bring compassion to a campaign composed of diverse perspectives.
The Transit Worker Fellows will open the workshop with a panel, sharing their work and organizing experiences, illustrating the value workers bring to conversations that we cannot get from just engaging riders.
Following the panel you will break into small groups to discuss different scenarios and conflicts that may arise between riders and workers, transit agencies and riders, transit agencies and workers. Then construct and practice organizing conversations. The groups will come together and end with reflections.
Sharing Your Transit Story: Effectively Using Your Story to Mobilize Workshop led by
When advocating for change, it’s easy to get caught up in data, reports, and studies to try to prove the worthiness of your cause—but that only gets you so far. Time and time again, we have seen powerful stories help shift narratives around issues, including transit. Whether it’s testifying at city council, speaking to reporters, or educating people around the issues, storytelling can be our most powerful tool in creating change.
In this workshop we will learn how stories can have an impact and discuss effective ways to tell our stories to shift narratives and win change.
When building an issues-based campaign, it is important to consider what the stakes are for the community around you. Whether it is where you volunteer, your classmates, your church congregation, neighbors, or co-workers, helping people to realize the power of their personal networks is life-changing to the personal power of organizing in your community. The power we all have, organizing it, and understanding the power of our opposition is what we will be focused on in this workshop. As we look to build powerful people, relationships, and movements to address our material needs.
Join us for a workshop where we will help you realize YOUR power and send you on your way to organize for your community’s gain.
MI, MD and PA Case Studies: Statewide Funding Fights for the Transit Service we Deserve Workshop led by
Transit riders in communities across the Country are facing massive service cuts and fare increases – or are already suffering from inadequate service- and are now organizing for a variety of statewide funding and policy solutions. Hear from organizers from Detroit, Baltimore and Philly around the good, the bad and the ugly around statewide funding fights for transit, and how we can draw lessons from funding fights across state lines and across issue areas to win the service we deserve.
Let’s go for a walk! (Mobile Workshop) Workshop led by
Get some fresh air after lunch on a walk to explore Oakland from the perspective of people who walk and bus there! We’ll venture outside for a comfortable 1.3-mile journey with a focus on what works and what could be improved for accessibility, safety, and comfort. The route is mostly flat with one moderately steep downhill section, all on paved surfaces with wheelchair-accessible sidewalks.
Along the way, we’ll examine sidewalk design, transit stations, a pedestrian plaza, and one of the best “complete streets” in the City. You’ll learn to assess walking infrastructure through the eyes of mobility and accessibility experts, with insights from special guest Cecelia Black from Disability Rights Washington.
This interactive 90-minute workshop includes a brief orientation, guided walk with discussion stops, and a group debrief. Pre-registration required, limited to 20 participants. Come prepared to move at a relaxed pace and engage in meaningful dialogue about creating more walkable, accessible communities!
As community organizers, we have all found ourselves in community meetings which have gone sideways- with attendees who pull everyone off-topic, folks that don’t seem engaged, participants who offer racist, homophobic or ableist takes, and even some where participants challenge the goals of the meeting itself. This workshop will share best practices for how facilitators can set up effective meetings, and how to navigate conflicts as they arise. Participants in this workshop will have the opportunity to offer their reflections and practice managing a disruptive room towards a positive outcome.
Campaigns 101: The Nuts and Bolts of Building a Winning Strategy Workshop led by
It can be easy to identify the issue that we want to organize a campaign around, but where do we go from there? In this workshop, you’ll hear from leaders in the transit justice, immigrant justice, jail justice and climate justice movements to see how they identified allies and targets, tactics, messaging and research needs in their respective campaigns, and built a solid plan to win. Participants in this workshop will have the opportunity to collectively strategize on their own campaigns with these tools, or grapple with common scenarios together to develop an effective organizing campaign.
Abhishek Viswanathan is an immigrant from Mumbai, teaching Data Science at Chatham University, researching environmental conditions in Pittsburgh, and organizing with friends and comrades at Against Carceral Tech (ACT) and other places.
Alisa Grishman is a disability activist and founder of Access Mob Pittsburgh, an advocacy group that utilizes positive approaches to making change, such as education and economic incentives. A self-described shameless agitator, Grishman has also been arrested multiple times fighting for disability rights with ADAPT, a national advocacy group. Her work has been recognized locally and nationally in such outlets as the Rachel Maddow Show, NPR, Huffington Post, Esquire Magazine, WTAE, KDKA News, and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Along with her direct advocacy work, Grishman co-runs Ballots for Patients and Care to Vote, sister efforts that respectively collect emergency absentee ballots from hospitalized peoples on election day and work with nursing and personal care homes to help residents register to vote and fill out ballots. She also sits on the board of directors of the Keystone Progress Education Fund.
In her free time, Grishman enjoys knitting and collecting antique books. She lives in the Uptown neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA.
As a Transportation Community Organizer at No Boundaries Coalition, I led grassroots efforts to elevate transportation equity in Central West Baltimore. I created and led the initiative “Put Your SEAT Where Your Mouth Is,” bringing elected officials and residents together to ride public transit and engage in a town hall that translated lived experience into policy-driven dialogue. I built strategic relationships with local and state officials, including direct engagement with the Secretary of Transportation. I met with the Administrator of MTA to advocate for improved operations and maintenance of our transit system. I also developed a monthly transportation flyer to keep residents informed and involved.
My advocacy extended to speaking at Delegate Robbyn Lewis’ City 4 All forum, organizing transportation for community members to the Transit Riders Rally in Annapolis as well as speaking at that rally, and testifying at MTA House and Senate hearings in support of Governor Moore’s transportation budget. My work reflects a deep commitment to community empowerment, equitable transit solutions, and building bridges between residents and decision-makers.
Connor Chapman is a labor/community organizer and researcher based in Pittsburgh, PA. A member of PPT’s organizing committee, he serves as an organizer with Pittsburghers for Public Transit’s Transit Worker Fellowship, which aims to bring transit workers and transit riders together. Committed to building strong labor-community coalitions, Connor believes that robust connections between Pittsburgh’s transit workforce and ridership will be key to maintaining and expanding public transit service. He also organizes with the Pitt Graduate Workers Organizing Committee, where he helped secure union representation for 2,300 graduate workers at the University of Pittsburgh.
Connor Descheemaker has over a decade of experience building and facilitating diverse coalitions to achieve policy change, support local communities, and provide professional education and development. Born in Phoenix, they came of age just as that famously-sprawling metro opened its first light rail line in 2008, and their exploration of a changing downtown ignited their interest in mobility and community in urban areas. There, they ran multiple all-ages art and performance spaces, and founded a business coalition to support walkable, sustainable, and affordable urban development. After four intermediary years in Seattle supporting architects in their professional development, and housing and transportation advocacy, they arrived in Philadelphia in 2022 to manage the Transit Forward Philadelphia coalition. There, they grew the group to 35 community-based organizations covering environmental justice, immigrant and refugee support, community development, political advocacy, and elder and disability rights.
Daeja Baker is a long-time organizer and poet from the North Side of Pittsburgh. She founded Pittsburgh Feminists for Intersectionality (PFI) in 2017, an organization that does community education, mutual aid, and resource gathering across Allegheny County. Daeja often organizes at the intersections of disability rights, mental health, racial justice, queer rights, and abolition. Daeja has worked on numerous state and county level political campaigns and currently works as a political consultant. She believes that our collective liberation rests in the power that individuals bring in coalition with one another. Daeja organizes with the belief that rest is radical; rest is liberation; and that nothing happens in a movement without collective care. Be well.
Hello, my name is Evelyn Ulysse. I’m part of the Latino community in Pittsburgh. I ride public transit, and I care about it because it’s a system that helps the most vulnerable people get around the city to perform basic life activities, such as going to work, school, medical appointments, grocery shopping, and recreational activities. I’m passionate about photography and participating in projects that improve the quality of life.
Hola mi nombre es Evelyn Ulysse soy parte de la Comunidad Latina en Pittsburgh PA, Soy usuaria del transporte público y me importa porque es un sistema que ayuda a la clase más vulnerable a desplazarse por la ciudad para realizar sus actividades básicas para la vida como ir al Trabajo la Escuela Citas médicas, comprar alimentos y actividades recreativas. Me apasiona la fotografía y participar en proyectos que aporten mejoras a la calidad de vida.
Erik lives in Lawrenceville with his wife Laura and dog Ubba. He is a California native who spent seven years calling minor league baseball games on the radio before beginning his current work in and around political campaigns. Erik’s first campaign was Bernie Sanders 2020 run where he worked as a Field Organizer and Advance Team Member before moving to Pittsburgh in June of 2020. Since then, he has worked on numerous electoral and public pressure campaigns at all levels with a commitment to building power for poor and working people. A believer in organizational homes, Erik organizes with the Pittsburgh Chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
Faith Walker is the Executive Director of RVA Rapid Transit, Virginia’s only public transportation advocacy organization. She first joined the team as Director of Community Engagement and now leads efforts to create a more connected, equitable Richmond region through expanded and accessible transit.Under Faith’s leadership, RVA Rapid Transit has championed the region’s Zero Fare program for the past five years, ensuring transit remains a vital tool for racial equity, economic mobility, and public health. She has helped grow impactful initiatives like the Adopt-A-Stop program, which empowers community members to reimagine and care for bus stops; Riders Voice, which amplifies the lived experiences of daily transit users in policy conversations; and Mobility University, a five-week training series that equips residents to advocate for better public transportation in their neighborhoods.With a strong foundation in artistic marketing, creative outreach, and grassroots organizing, Faith bridges community, culture, and policy to advance healthy, people-centered transit solutions across the region.
Gabriel McMorland (She/her) has been active with PPT since 2015 and is currently on the PPT board. She previously worked at the Thomas Merton Center, an activist organization where she led power-mapping workshops and organized campaigns on a variety of issues. She’s a blind/Disabled transwoman who dreams of sidewalks and transit so accessible that we can all move on to more poetic pursuits.
Gregory Williams serves as the Advocacy Campaign Organizer at Bike Durham, where he champions equitable and sustainable transportation initiatives. He’s been with Bike Durham for a little over a year now and brings with him over a decade of experience in political fundraising, organizing, operations, and civic engagement. In addition to his dedication to advancing social justice and democracy through improved transit solutions he is an avid musician, father, and sustainable technology enthusiast.
Joel Batterman (he/him) grew up in Michigan, went to college in Oregon, and returned to the Great Lakes State hoping to bring more public transit to America’s automotive heartland. He helped found Transit Riders of the US Together, a national network of transit rider organizations, and currently works as Campaigns Manager for Detroit’s Transportation Riders United. Joel has experience organizing with MOSES, the Motor City Freedom Riders, and the Graduate Employees Organization, among other groups. He lives in Detroit with his wife, cat, and son.
Laura has been carless for 4 years, and a Pittsburgh for Public Transit member for 5. As a community organizer with Pittsburgh’s Latino immigrants, she worked with PPT on various campaigns to make our public transit system more accessible to immigrants.
Hi my name is Monika Wheeler Hanna, and I’m a Retired Instructor/ Supervisor from Pittsburgh Region Transit with 25 years of service, 15 years as an Operator and 10 years as an Instructor. I’ve been an Activist with Pittsburghers for Public Transit since 2011 and I’m a Transit Worker Fellow who acts as a Consultant on Work Place issues and PPT Campaigns. I like to travel with my GrandGirls to their Cheer Competition.
Morgan is the Activism Team Lead at Patagonia Pittsburgh, where she partners with local organizations to host meaningful events—like book talks, film screenings, and community conversations—and helps amplify their messages through social media and in-store storytelling.
Her passion for local advocacy runs deep. As a former intern and active member of Pittsburghers for Public Transit, she’s spent time canvassing, speaking at PRT board meetings, and conducting bus stop audits to support more equitable transit.
When she’s not organizing or connecting with community partners, you’ll likely find Morgan enjoying time at the park with her dog, Frankie, or winding down with a cozy Animal Crossing session on her Switch.
Patrick McGinty teaches writing at Slippery Rock University, where he chairs the Committee for Action through Politics for the faculty union (APSCUF). His first novel, Test Drive, was about how driverless cars don’t really solve transit issues in Pittsburgh. Like, at all.
I’m Paul Vereb, a Pittsburghers for Public Transit Fellow and a recently retired Light Rail Transit Systems Supervisor for Pittsburgh Regional Transit. My position included supervising three different disciplines under the umbrella of one department called Power and Signal. I spent 30 years in the light rail field working with crews who maintained the power distribution, overhead catenary infrastructure, and signaling assets for the Allegheny County Trolley system, the T, where I learned the importance of teamwork, experience, and collective ideas in the process of job performance. Working with PPT has given me insight to the needs of our riders and fellow employees and the obstacles that we face in light of inconsistent funding and service delivery. I believe these are things that can be righted using our collective voices, experience, and teamwork.
Seth Bush is the Advocacy Manager at Bike Pittsburgh where he coaches, trains, and resources leaders of neighborhood biking & walking advocacy groups or “bike/ped committees” across Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Seth is a graduate of the America Walks Walking College Fellowship and a Professional Certified Coach for social change leaders with over 15 years of experience in grassroots organizing. When he’s not helping neighbors transform their streets, you can find Seth walking his dog around his neighborhood in Swissvale, gardening, or binge-watching Star Trek. Contact him at seth@bikepgh.org.
Tom Conroy is a retired bus driver for Pittsburgh Regional Transit and former Union board man for Amalgamated Transit Union local 85 at the Collier garage in Pittsburgh. He is a long time member and supporter of Pittsburghers for Public Transit and Union activist.
Shay (they/he) is a soccer coach, union barista and member of Starbucks Workers United, and a transit advocate based out of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. They are a co-founder of Clevelanders for Public Transit, and formerly served as staff for the Amalgamated Transit Union to prevent service cuts and layoffs in Cleveland.
Stevie Pasamonte is an organizer focused on building grassroots power at the intersection of mobility, climate, and racial justice. As the chair of Transit Columbus, they helped win a major funding increase for central Ohio public transit, sidewalks, and bikeways, and built coalitions to champion the city’s first complete streets policy. Stevie draws from their experience as a grassroots advocate and lifelong public transit rider in their work with the National Campaign for Transit Justice.
This Transit Worker Appreciation Day, we’re showing the love and showing up for transit funding!
Whether you ride the T in the South Hills, drive the bus out of the West Mifflin Garage, cruise down the Martin Luther King Jr. Busway, or work on power and signal out of South Hills Junction, workers and riders of public transit across Allegheny County and all of Pennsylvania are facing a funding crisis that stands to cut our service down to unprecedented levels.
On Tuesday, March 18th, PPT is meeting the challenge with a day of organizing–and, most importantly, celebrating the transit workers who keep our communities moving! By celebrating Transit Worker Appreciation Day with us, you’ll have the chance to give your favorite bus, T, or busway drivers some love, while also standing up to protect their jobs and transit service across the state.
Want to share the love? Here’s how:
1. Sign our petition to tell the state government: protect and expand our transit funding!
2. Sign up to canvass with us! Educate riders and show transit workers some love!
We will be out in full force talking to riders about who PPT is, the current PA state funding crisis threatening to impact public transportation, and asking them to share goodie bags of tasty treats and PPT swag with their operator when they board the bus.
Participants can choose from two different canvassing shifts: 7am-9am or 4pm-6pm (or join us for both!). We will meet to review the plan, and during the shift we will work in teams at a handful of busy bus stops. We’ll end with a debrief at the same location we began at.
Bring warm layers, good shoes and a big smile. There will be plenty of waving and exclamations of “Happy Transit Worker Appreciation Day!” when the bus door slides open!
The fight for statewide transit funding goes way beyond Transit Worker Appreciation Day–we’re organizing for it all day, every day! Check out our statewide campaign and sign on to our platform by visiting the Transit for All PA! website.
image description: graphic has text that reads “Mon Valley Transit Organizing Fellowship” wth a photo of a PPT Member. Background has a gameboy-like illustration of people waiting at a bus stop.
Apply Today! PPT’s New Organizing Fellowship Will Train More Transit Advocates in the Mon Valley
No matter what place you call home, everyone in Allegheny County deserves safe, accessible, affordable, and reliable public transportation. However, a lack of investment in our public transit, environmental crises, increases in the costs of housing, and social inequity have led to many of our friends, families, and neighbors struggling to get to the places they want to go and disconnecting our communities rather than bringing them together.
But we can take action to reverse it. That is why Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) will launch a paid fellowship program for transit riders who live in communities located in the Mon Valley during Spring 2024. Participants will explore public transit access, infrastructure, financial barriers, and equitable development. Examples of these topics include; the opportunities and need for more bus shelters and safe, accessible sidewalks to transit, improved service through Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT’s) Bus Line redesign process, winning and enrolling Mon Valley residents into Allegheny Go, and the zoning/land use relationship connecting access to housing and quality transit.
Fellows will receive compensation for participating in the program for three hours per week for ten weeks until completion in June 2025, with a special invitation to Pittsburghers for Public Transit’s Spring Training event on April 26, 2025.
The fellowship will consist of weekly modules based on current PPT transit justice campaigns, within classroom learning and field work. The fellowship will begin in late March 2025 and end in early June 2025.
Timeline Overview of the Mon Valley Organizing Fellowship
June 3th – June 22nd – Meetings with elected officials
June 23rd – Graduation Party : )
Do you live in the Mon Valley and want to improve public transit for your community? Apply today by sending your resume and answers to the following questions to cheryl@pittsburghforpublictransit.org
To apply to the Mon Valley Transit Organizing fellowship, send answers to the following questions to cheryl@pittsburghforpublictransit.org. You can include a resume if you have one!
Phone number
Email
Address
Why is organizing for public transit important to you?
How do you understand the connection between public transit and racial, economic, disability, and environmental justice?
Can you tell us about any past experiences, jobs, volunteer work, or leadership opportunities that have prepared you for this opportunity?
What are you looking to accomplish through your participation with PPT’s Mon Valley Organizing Fellowship?
Whether you’re from State College or Scranton, Philly or Erie, every Pennsylvanian deserves transportation access to opportunity.On Feb 4th, National Transit Equity Day, Governor Shapiro didn’t deliver a public transit budget proposal that meets the needs of our Commonwealth. We need you to join thousands of transit riders and workers across the state for two statewide calls to build the vision and organizing plan for the service we deserve!
Last week, 80+ transit riders and transit workers across Pennsylvania joined Transit for All PA’s All Eyes on Governor Shapiro Budget Watch Party to see if he would heed our call to elevate transit as a top priority in his annual budget address. Over the previous three weeks, over 3,000 letters were sent to the Governor to that effect. Although Governor Shapiro made cursory mention of the “essential” nature of transit in his remarks, his actual 2026 budget proposal falls far short of our public transit needs in both urban and rural communities.
Instead, the budget that Governor Shapiro laid out on Rosa Parks’ Birthday keeps transit without a dedicated source of funding, pulling from sales tax revenue in the general fund. That leaves transit funding vulnerable to the whims of our divided and contentious state legislature, and draws from a source of funding that is competitive with other basic needs including education and healthcare. Moreover, Shapiro’s budget proposal requires that our transit agencies draw down their reserves to zero in the five years, and only manages to maintain our existing austerity levels of service. This is not the expanded and dedicated state transit funding solution- long overdue- that residents of the Commonwealth need and deserve.
In just the last five years, transit systems across Pennsylvania have been cut dramatically, leaving our state’s older adults, disabled residents, youth, and no car households without the bus lines they rely on to access jobs, healthcare, food and community. Funding austerity coupled with transit worker shortages have devastated rural intercity transit in Pennsylvania, severed municipal access to transit in mid-sized urban areas like Centre County, and resulted in overall transit service cuts of 20% with Pittsburgh Regional Transit. The Governor’s 2026 budget proposal does not provide the resources necessary to prevent the imminent funding cliffs of agencies like SEPTA and PRT without requiring that these agencies use up their limited reserves; it certainly does nothing to reverse the cuts we’ve seen in communities across the state.
We deserve better. That is why over 8,000 Pennsylvania transit riders and operators have taken action over the past year, and that is why we’re organized to fight now for the service we deserve.
On Thursday, February 27th, Transit for All PA will host the first of two statewide transit funding calls to develop our demands and our action plan for winning Visionary Transit across Pennsylvania. We need transit riders and operators across the commonwealth to help us define the priorities they see in their communities to ensure transit moves more of us.
Join Us for our Transit for All PA Planning Calls with Transit Riders and Workers all Across the Commonwealth! Register Here for our first call on February 27th from 5:30-7:00 pm.
The time is now: we know that we get one opportunity to focus the PA legislature and pass a funding package that meets ALL our transit needs. That’s why we’re going big, and organizing towards three visionary goals:
Funding that restores our transit service to 2019 levels for communities across the Commonwealth, and matched to the travel patterns of post-pandemic ridership.
Local enabling legislation to raise the local capital dollars needed to attract major federal investment, which Pennsylvania is currently losing out on to places like Ohio, Colorado, Arizona, and Washington.
A project prioritization rubric like Virginia has that ensures that PennDOT’s billions of dollars of transportation funding are moving the most people, benefiting our economies, reducing congestion and improving air quality.
Governor Shapiro is right to recognize that transit is essential. But we need him, and all our state elected officials, to invest in our transit systems at the levels we deserve. Along with hundreds of other riders and transit workers, we’ll see you on the 27th; we’re done with decline and we’re ready to organize for a budget that moves us!
**This post was published in an altered form on the Transit For All PA website.
PPT welcomes Connor Descheemaker to our team as the Statewide Campaign Manager for Transit For All PA.
For over a decade, PPT has been a democratic member-led organization that fights for change in our community. We have won campaigns for improved bus service, fare accessibility, affordable housing, and transit equity. These successes are fueled by our local members and volunteers across Allegheny County.
Over the last several years, recognizing the impact of state policy on the Pittsburgh area’s transit service, we began organizing at the state government. This ramped up in 2021 with the founding of Transit For All PA, a statewide coalition of riders, workers, and organizations who collectively built a platform to advocate to win dedicated, sustainable, progressively-funded money for public transportation across Pennsylvania.
Joining together with riders from Pittsburgh to Philly, Scranton to Harrisburg, and everywhere in-between, we staved off COVID catastrophe, created a vision for funding transit operations and capital after Act 89 (the last dedicated transportation funding bill, expired in 2022), and pushed Governor Shapiro to take executive action and stop imminent cuts for SEPTA in the Fall of 2024.
Until now, that work has all been done on borrowed time and staff from several organizations across the commonwealth. At the end of 2024 we had the immediate opportunity to hire a statewide staffer to lead our organizing to win critical state funding before the fiscal cliff hits transit agencies across the state starting July 1.
So, we brought in Connor Descheemaker, formerly the Coalition Manager of Transit Forward Philadelphia, for the next year to lead these efforts connecting riders, workers, and organizations in rural and urban communities to win needed funding for our public transportation. Let’s win the funding we deserve and end austerity for transit in 2025!
Learn a little more about Connor by reading their bio and some interview answers below.
Connor Descheemaker arrives with over a decade of experience building and facilitating diverse coalitions to achieve policy change, support local communities, and provide professional education and development. Born in Phoenix, they came of age just as that famously-sprawling metro opened its first light rail line in 2008, and their exploration of a changing downtown ignited their interest in mobility and community in urban areas. There, they ran multiple all-ages art and performance spaces, and founded a business coalition to support walkable, sustainable, and affordable urban development. After four intermediary years in Seattle supporting architects in their professional development, and housing and transportation advocacy, they arrived in Philadelphia in 2022 to manage the Transit Forward Philadelphia coalition. There, they grew the group to 35 community-based organizations covering environmental justice, immigrant and refugee support, community development, political advocacy, and elder and disability rights.
Their organizing and political ideals are rooted in punk and DIY culture, building community with marginalized people in places left behind by capital. Now when not organizing, you’ll find them picking around a record store or at an underground show, hoping you’ll join them at a dive bar or on a bike ride soon.
The PPT team is excited to have you on board! What drew you to the work PPT is doing?
I have admired the work of PPT since right after I moved to PA! It’s been a huge privilege to learn from PPT’s organizing model of rider- and worker-led advocacy, and support one another at the state capitol in Harrisburg. When the opportunity arose to focus my work exclusively on knitting together the struggles of riders and workers in communities all across the commonwealth, I jumped at it.
What’s your experience with transit? What routes have you ridden during different parts of your life? How has the experience varied between cities where you’ve lived and visited?
I started a bit late with transit – like I mentioned above, I’m from Phoenix which is one of the physically-largest metros in the country, which only grew because of the invention of air conditioning, the federal highway system, and tract home development across “virgin” desert. To have light rail finally arrive felt game-changing, and I rode it at every opportunity because it felt so different from the deadening, polluted wastelands along our ten-lane highways connecting every suburb.
What started as novelty became necessity as my car was totaled at my first job out of college, and I chose to pocket the dismal insurance payout to have a way out rather than invest in a crummy car I’d spend even more money insuring and repairing. I’ve since ridden Amtrak across the country twice, and ridden buses and trains in Chicago, LA, New York, the Bay Area, Philly, Boston, DC, Baltimore, Atlanta, Orlando, Portland, Seattle, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, New Orleans, Austin, Vancouver, and throughout England and France. While riding a bus or train is mostly pleasant and the easiest way to get around in cities like Seattle and New York, it’s a brazen marker of segregation and disinvestment, or gentrification and displacement in cities like Atlanta, Detroit, and New Orleans. There, transit is either explicitly designed for tourists, or barely held together for the working class, depending on whether it’s a bus, or a cutesy streetcar or light rail going between attractions. Riding the system has taught me more about how transit works and doesn’t work for riders than any video or study I’ve ever read. It has radicalized me to mobility and transportation being perhaps the most intersectional issue – touching environment, housing, healthcare, community safety, and disability, all held together by its role as one of our last “public spaces,” where all are (supposed to be) welcomed, regardless of background or means.
What work are you excited to do? What victories do you think you’ll help us win in the coming months?
I am extremely excited to ride transit in the boroughs, cities, and townships across PA, and learn directly from riders and operators about what works and doesn’t work in their communities. I’m ready to use that knowledge to connect our rural-to-urban communities’ struggles, and show legislators who say “our voters don’t care about transit” that their constituents depend on it, whether they realize it or not. I’m ready to break us out of the managed decline of transit, and into restoration and expansion of service, starting with sustainable, dedicated funding for operations across the commonwealth.
What inspires you? What gives you energy that you want to share with others?
I am inspired by meeting anyone and everyone through organizing. It’s the people and information sharing that makes me most immediately excited. But most notably, I find myself invigorated by those who have been in the struggle for their whole lives. It is their resilience and clarity of purpose that keeps me going every day, regardless of how good or bad one particular fight might be going.
What is your favorite pump-up song?
I’m so bad at choosing favorites! I choose for a mood; all of ‘em are uh….very political haha.
-ANGRY – Paint It Black “Safe” -INSPIRED – Latterman “My Bedroom Is Like For Artists” -COMMUNAL – Lee Bains III & Glory Fires “Breaking It Down”
Check out our Coordinating Committee and Staff page to see the core team of organizers who make up PPT, and join us at our next meeting to get involved – 2nd Tuesday of every month, 7-8:30pm! – or send us an email.
**This post was published in an adapted version on the Transit For All PA website.
We’re Ready for a Budget that Moves Us! On February 4th, Rosa Parks’ birth date, we’re calling on Governor Shapiro to lay out a funding plan for the transit we deserve.
Thank you Governor Shapiro for hearing our call to flex funding and save SEPTA. Now it’s time for you to put transit first, and negotiate a dedicated, sustainable transit funding solution for all Pennsylvanians in 2025.
Whether you’re from State College or Scranton, Philly or Erie, every Pennsylvanian deserves transportation access to opportunity. Organize with us on Rosa Parks’ birth date and Transit Equity Day to win public transit in every corner of our state.
This February 4th, 2025 is the annual Transit Equity Day, which is celebrated on civil rights leader Rosa Parks’ birth date. Transit Equity Day recognizes transit as a human right, central to the movements for racial justice, economic justice, disability justice and climate justice. This year, it falls on the same date as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s budget address, in which he will lay out his funding priorities for the FY 2026 Budget.
We’re ready for a state budget that moves us. On Rosa Parks’ birth date and Transit Equity Day, transit riders and workers across Pennsylvania are calling on Governor Josh Shapiro to announce his plan to win dedicated, expanded funding for public transit in his annual budget address.
There are THREE things you can do to organize with us for transit that moves all Pennsylvanians:
First, send a letter to Governor Shapiro,to show him how important transit is to constituents all across the Commonwealth, and that there we’re ready to support him in winning funding for the service we deserve! >>Send your letter here & share it with your community
Finally, register to join our TRANSIT M♥VES US WATCH PARTY of Gov. Shapiro’s Budget AddressWe’ll have in-person coffee and donuts in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and have a livestream up for folks to join from home! Let’s show the state legislature that we’re paying attention and are ready for the transit funding fight this Spring!>>RSVP today and invite your folks!
How to take part in the TRANSIT M♥VES ME photo campaign to tell Gov. Shapiro transit must be a top priority!
Guidance for taking photos:
Write the sign in Sharpie or print from a digital doc
Sign should be horizontal
Font should be large and cover the entire page
Message is: I am a ____________ [insert job title] and transit moves me <3
Hold it high: under your face
Photo should be taken in portrait orientation/vertically
Don’t take a back lit photo: Make sure the light source in the room is shining on you and the sign
If possible, have someone else take the photo so that nothing is left out of the frame
Take a couple photos so you can decide which one you like best and don’t forget to smile! 🙂
Once you have your photo:
Send your photo to Connor at connor@transitforallpa.orgwith a sentence or two about why you’re taking action!
Post it to social media with the following message: I am an essential worker and transit moves me! Hey @governorshapiro! Please include transit as a top priority in your budget address on Feb 4th. 🚨 Take action with me and the @TransitPA campaign here: https://www.transitforallpa.org/tell-gov-shapiro-transit-moves-us/ #transitequityday
RSVP to the watch party! All Eyes on Governor Shapiro to include transit as top priority in his 2025-26 Budget Address!
Join us as we call on Governor Shapiro to put transit at the top of his agenda for this Spring’s budget negotiations and hear his plans for funding the service we deserve on Transit Equity Day.
We will hold a watch party with coffee and donuts in Pittsburgh and in Philadelphia during this budget, with locations TBD. Register here to join the in-person fun, or get the link to join the watch party from the warmth of your own home!
image description: red background with white text that reads “New Advocate Tools! Commute Calculator” next to a logo for Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s Bus Line Redesign
New Commute Calculator tool From Our Research Committee Helps Riders See How Trips Will Be Impacted by Draft 1.0 of the Bus Line Redesign
Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) is proposing a significant Bus Line Redesign that could dramatically change how transit riders travel across the County. We think it’s very important that transit riders have the ability to assess how the Bus Line Redesign (BLR) will impact our commute times. PRT does not provide a way to compare travel times under the current bus network to the proposed BLR Draft 1.0, although we at PPT believe that this is invaluable information for riders to consider.
PPT’s Research Committee used our tool to model 21 example transit trips in Allegheny County to and from important neighborhoods and destinations to compare travel times: 19 of those 21 trips would take longer under the BLR Draft 1.0 than they do today under our current network, which is very concerning. Many of these trips are longer because they would require more transfers under the new proposal. You can see the math behind these example commute calculations here.
USE OUR ADVOCATE COMMUTE TOOL: Compare how your current commute is impacted by Draft 1.0 of the Bus Line Redesign Proposal
People care how long their trip will take. It’s unfortunate that Pittsburgh Regional Transit doesn’t provide a way to measure how your commute time will change under their bus network proposal. Luckily, our Research Committee created a tool to let people do just that.
To make a commute time comparison between an existing PRT transit trip and the proposed Bus Line Redesign transit trip, follow these instructions:
Identify Your Route: Choose the starting point (e.g., your neighborhood intersection) and destination (e.g., an intersection, a key location like a workplace, hospital, grocery store, or transit hub).
Enter it in Google Maps: Input the starting point and destination in Google Maps and adjust the route’s path according to the actual route and turns that the current bus takes. It is IMPORTANT to map your current route using the “driving” function of Google Maps (NOT the “transit” function!), in order to have an apples to apples comparison of the current route(s) against the proposed Bus Line Redesign route(s). This is suggested because travel times for the proposed routes are not yet available. It should be noted that actual transit travel times will likely be longer.
Record Travel Details using Current Routes: Note the total travel time, number of transfers, and any walking required.
Walking times from your origin to the bus stop, from the bus stop to your destination, or between buses related to a transfer can be assessed using the Google Maps “walking” function.
For all transfers you need to add a transfer time “penalty” that is equal to half of the frequency of the second or connecting route. So for instance, if you must make a transfer and the bus you are transferring onto comes once every 30 minutes, you should add a 15 minute transfer penalty to your total commute time. This penalty represents the average wait time related to the transfer.
Adjust your Google Maps input to reflect the new proposed route and again use the car or driving option, not the transit option to calculate times for the proposed trip. Using the driving option for both the current and proposed trip will ensure a fair comparison.
Compare: Copy a table or create a table with columns for the current and proposed routes, listing travel time, transfers, and walking distance. Highlight any key differences.
Adding the two bus trips together gives a total bus travel time of 18 minutes. However,the new N63 will only have service every 60 minutes–so the transfer penalty will be 30 minutes. In total, the new travel time will be approximately 48 minutes.
Fill in the chart with the information for your current route (on the left) and your new route (on the right) under the BLR proposal:
In this way, you are able to calculate the impact of the proposed changes in the BLR Draft 1.0 for yourself. It is important to remember that this does not have to be perfect. And if you need any help in doing this at any time, feel free to reach out to PPT and we will be glad to figure it out with you!
PPT’s Research Committee modeled Draft 1.0 of the Bus Line Redesign impacts on 21 different trips. Here’s the results:
Hill District (Centre+Kirkpatrick) to Waterworks (Giant Eagle) – Travel Time Would be Shorter Under BLR Proposal
Current route: 48 minutes | Proposed route: 40 minutes (8-minute improvement) Current Route: (82, 1) | Proposed Route: (D81)
Good news! Traveling from Centre & Kirkpatrick to Waterworks Giant Eagle would be slightly faster. The new route eliminates one transfer at Liberty+7th (Downtown), making your journey more straightforward.
Children’s Hospital (Penn+44th) to Shadyside (Fifth Avenue+S Highland) – Travel Time Would be Longer Under the BLR Proposal
Current route: 12 minutes | Proposed routes: 25 or 38 minutes (potential increase of 13-26 minutes).
Current Route: (64) | Proposed Routes: (N94, D73)
Caution! This route becomes more complicated. You’ll now need to walk more (from the Hospital to Liberty+Bloomfield Bridge) and make a transfer at Fifth+Shady which could significantly extend your travel time. You could walk from Fifth+Shady to Fifth+ S Highland to save the transfer time.
Lower Lawrenceville (Penn+Butler) to South Side (S 18th+Sarah) – Travel Time Would be Longer Under the BLR Proposal
Current route: 23 minutes | Proposed routes: 30 or 52 minutes.
Current Route: (54) | Proposed Routes: (O99, O47) or (D88, D51)
Significant variations here! One proposed route will have a 7-minute increase, while another adds nearly 30 minutes to your journey. Expect more walking and transfers at Fifth+Atwood (Oakland) or Smithfield+Fifth (Downtown) in both proposed scenarios.
Trafford (5th+Brinton) to Monroeville (Forbes Hospital) – Travel Time Would be Much Longer Under the BLR Proposal
Major Concern! This route sees a dramatic change. The new route involves a walk from Trafford to Haymaker Village and a transfer at North Versailles Walmart. The required and significant walking (due to the removal of bus service in Trafford) will turn a quick trip into a lengthy journey.
Beltzhoover (Gearing+Chalfont) to Shadyside Hospital (Centre+Cypress) – Travel Time Would Be Similar Under the BLR Proposal with Additional Walking
Current route: 46 minutes | Proposed routes: 49 or 52 minutes.
Current Routes: (44, 82) | Proposed Routes: (N84, D82) or (RED, D82)
While only slightly longer overall, there is significant additional walking. You will still have one transfer.
Squirrel Hill (Forbes+Murray) to Robinson Town Center (IKEA) – Travel Time Would be Longer Under the BLR Proposal
Current route: 61 minutes | Proposed routes: 78 or 85 minutes (an increase of 17-24 minutes).
Current Routes: (61C, 28X) | Proposed Routes: (X50, D29) or (X50, D25)
Longer journey ahead! The new routes involve a Downtown transfer and slightly longer walking distances, potentially making your commute longer and less convenient.
Homewood (N Homewood+Frankstown) to Squirrel Hill (Allderdice High School) – Travel Time Would be Much Longer Under the BLR Proposal
Significant time increase! The new route requires a transfer at Penn+Shady which will add more walking, and substantially more time to reach your destination.
Kennedy (Pleasant Ridge) to Lawrenceville (Butler+46th) – Travel Time Would be Longer Under the BLR Proposal
Current route: 47 minutes | Proposed routes: 57 or 66 minutes (10-19 minute increase).
Current Routes: (22, 91) | Proposed Routes: (N22, GREEN, D91) or (N22, D21, D91)
Longer journey ahead! The new routes involve more walking, an additional transfer and more complex navigation.
Natrona Heights (Freeport+Spring Hill) to Downtown (LIberty+Smithfield) – Travel Time Would be Significantly Longer Under the BLR Proposal
Current route: 54 minutes | Proposed routes: 89 or 104 minutes (an extraordinary 35-50 minute increase).
Current Route: (P10) | Proposed Routes: (N1, PURPLE) or (N1, D5)
Major Time Increase! Riders will now face a transfer either at East Liberty Station or Harmar Garage, significantly longer travel times, and more complicated routes.
Carnegie Mellon University (Forbes+Morewood) to CCAC Boyce Campus – Travel Time Would be Longer Under the BLR Proposal
Current Routes: (41, 51) | Proposed Route: (N33, GREEN, D51)
Significant commute time Increase! There will bean additional transfer, one at Carnegie Station and the second at Sixth+Wood complicating what was previously a more direct journey.
Marshall Shadeland District (Brighton+Marshall) to North Hills (Passavant Hospital) – Travel Time Would be Slightly Longer under BLR Proposal
Current Route: (56) | Proposed Route: (D52, X50, N56)
Significant Time Increase! This would be a substantially longer trip with two transfers, one at E 8th+Ann (Homestead) and the other at Lysle+Evans (McKeesport).
Glen Hazel (Broadview+Johnston) to Greenfield (Giant Eagle) – Travel Time Would be Longer under BLR Proposal
Current route: 10 minutes | Proposed routes: 13 or 36 minutes (slight to significant increase).
Current Route: (93) | Proposed Routes: (O53, D44) or (O53, X50)
Mixed Results: One proposed route requires a transfer at Browns Hill+Imogene (with the need to cross busy Browns Hill Road), while the other adds substantial time requiring a transfer at Hazelwood+Osprey.
Edgewood Town Center (Giant Eagle) to Wilkinsburg (Montier+Laketon) – Travel Time Would Be Similar Under the BLR Proposal
Current and Proposed route: 41 minutes.
Current Routes: (71, 79) | Proposed Route: (X61, X60, N79)
No additional time, but an additional transfer. Despite additional walking and two transfers, one at Forbes+S Braddock (Frick Park) and the other at Penn+Center (Wilkinsburg), the overall travel time remains the same.
Morningside (Jancey+Greenwood) to North Side (Allegheny General Hospital) – Travel Time Would be Longer under BLR Proposal
Current route: 40 minutes | Proposed routes: 49 or 53 minutes (9-13 minute increase).
Current Routes: (87, 54) | Proposed Routes: (D96, D5) or (D96, D12)
Longer Trip Ahead! This commute becomes more complex and longer with additional walking and new transfer locations depending on the chosen option, one at Freeport+Western (Aspinwall) or the other at Liberty+7th (Downtown).
Brookline (Chelton+Freedom) to Propel Braddock Hills High School – Travel Time Would be Shorter Under BLR Proposal
Current Routes: (39, P68) | Proposed Route: (D39, D64)
Slight commute time improvement. An instance of travel time becoming shorter, but there would be increased walking time.
Stanton Heights (Stanton+Hawthorne) to Bloomfield (West Penn Hospital) – Travel Time Would be Longer under BLR Proposal
Current route: 12 minutes | Proposed routes: 29 or 32 minutes (17-20 minute increase).
Current Route: (87) | Proposed Routes: (D87, D88) or (D87, N79)
Significant Time Increase! A transfer would be required either at Penn+Negley or at N Negley+East Liberty Boulevard and additional walking will increase travel time.
Our conclusion? Riders have reason to be concerned.
In the 21 examples the proposed Bus Line Redesign Draft 1.0 predominantly increases travel times, introduces more transfers, and requires additional walking. Under Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s Bus Line Redesign (BLR) Draft 1.0, many riders could expect to have longer, more complicated commutes. We recommend reviewing specific changes to the routes you ride to understand how your daily travel might be impacted. We highly encourage leaving a comment on the Bus Line Design website Bus Line Redesign | Engage PRT or by calling PRT’s Customer Service Line at (412) 442-2000 or by sending an email at BusLineRedesign@RidePRT.org to ensure that your feedback is heard by PRT.
image description: red graphic with white font that says “New Advocates Tool! Evaluate Impacts” with a logo of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s Bus Line Redesign.
PPT Research Committee Launches New Community Evaluation & DIY Tools to Understand Impacts of Draft 1.0 of Bus Line Redesign
The Bus Line Redesign is enormously complicated, and will change almost every aspect of riders’ transit trips: PRT’s Bus Line Redesign will redraw where almost every bus route will run, how frequently buses come and how early in the morning and late at night buses will operate. Adding to the confusion, PRT is also proposing to rename all the bus routes and eliminate many bus stops across the County. That’s a lot for folks to pay attention to!
High-level evaluation of how some communities’ transit service will be impacted by Draft 1.0 of the Bus Line Redesign
Our Research Committee has been doing a deep dive into how the PRT’s Bus Line Redesign proposal will impact communities. Below, we have highlighted communities and corridors (not specific commutes or trips from A to B) that will see substantial transit service cuts with no proposed replacement routes under the Bus Line Redesign 1.0, and highlighted where neighborhoods will lose direct transit service to other communities or particular destinations under the PRT Bus Line Redesign Draft 1.0.
Below, where we write “losing direct service” it means just that– the listed destinations would no longer be able to be reached directly on one bus (otherwise known as a “one-seat ride”) under the proposed redesign, but it may be possible to reach those destinations with a transfer. However, it is important to recognize how adding a transfer adds uncertainty and longer commute times to transit trips, and increases wait times in the elements.
Finally, the list below is not a comprehensive list of the changes from the current bus network with the proposed Bus Line Redesign- for instance, we are not laying out proposed improvements to routes, nor are we evaluating service frequency or service span changes. In a few weeks, we will publish a route-by-route comparison of the current system that notes service improvements, accessibility and safety concerns, and service frequency and span changes.
We also are not claiming that these proposed Bus Line Redesign Draft 1.0 service changes are all bad- it’s very possible that these parts of the transit routes have very low ridership, and so this service can be re-allocated to different places without much concern. However, we believe that the Bus Line Redesign must grow ridership, grow transit service in marginalized communities, and make transit trips faster and more direct, and this is a resource to evaluate whether the Bus Line Redesign Draft 1.0 will do that, or not.
So take a look at how the Bus Line Redesign would affect your community below, let PRT know what you think, and sign on to support PPT’s Vision for a Bus Line Redesign for All! You can also let us know at info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org if we’ve missed other important impacts that you see with the Bus Line Redesign Draft 1.0.
Service along the current Y45 is almost completely eliminated, with no replacement.
Loss of Y47 service along Brownsville Rd between Provost Rd and Knoedler Drive.
Complete loss of 44 service in Baldwin on Agnew Rd, Custer Ave, Spencer Ave and Churchview Ave, with no fixed route service replacement.
PRT’s proposed Bus Line Redesign replacement routes of D46 and D49 are inaccessible by foot in the neighborhood. A previous 5-10 minute walk to a bus stop will now involve a harrowing half hour walk along a busy road without sidewalks, making the area highly inaccessible by transit. Furthermore the replacement bus service being offered now results in a much longer commute going through Century Square and Prospect Park.
Residents were already struggling with overcrowded buses on the Y45, because of service reductions over the past several years.
Beltzhoover
Elimination of 44 service in Beltzhoover along Climax St, Gearing Ave and Chalfont St, with no replacement fixed route transit service in those neighborhoods.
Bloomfield
Loses 87 service altogether.
Loses direct 54 service to North Oakland, South Side & Slopes, Mount Oliver, Knoxville, Bon Air, Allentown & Beltzhoover.
Loses direct 64 service to Shadyside and Chatham University.
Loses direct 87 service to Morningside, Stanton Heights & Upper Lawrenceville.
Loses direct 93 service to Greenfield, Hazelwood & Glen Hazel.
Loss of all 54 & 71C on Centre Avenue service with no proposed increase in 71A (O95) service ensures overcrowding and pass-ups in this busy transit corridor.
Reroutes 64 service away from the entrances to West Penn Hospital & Children’s Hospital.
Bon Air
Complete removal of 54 routing (and all bus service) from Bon Air.
Brackenridge
Elimination of P10 service. Proposed transit service replacement is serving a different portion of the community.
Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s proposed Bus Line Redesign shifts bus service to the River Ave portion of the community (on the proposed N1) from the current Freeport Road and 9th Ave vicinity.
Braddock
Loses direct connection to the Waterfront. Proposed service will require a transfer at Swissvale Station.
The routes in this region are all being broken up and reassembled into different routes connecting to different places, so there will be substantial impacts to current riders.
Braddock Hills
Loss of P68 service on Brinton Rd between Ardmore Blvd and Yost Blvd, with no replacement transit service.
The routes in this region are all being broken up and reassembled into different routes connecting to different places, so there will be substantial impacts to current riders.
Carnegie/Scott Township
Loss of G31 service on 3rd Street and Caruthers Ave between Carnegie & Heidelberg, with no replacement transit service on that corridor.
Chalfant
Loss of P76 service on Ardmore Blvd and US 30 between Yost Blvd and State Rt 48, would be discontinued.
Additional loss of current 69 service and loss of 59 service leaves this community with no remaining transit service under the Bus Line Redesign proposal.
Corliss/Crafton Heights
Loss of service along Middletown Road, Ladoga St, Faronia St, and Jeffers St with the elimination of the 27 bus.
Creighton
Loss of both the 1 and the P10, which leaves the community entirely without transit service.
Friendship
87 service on Friendship Avenue is eliminated altogether.
Loses direct 87 service to Morningside, Stanton Heights & Upper Lawrenceville.
Loss of all 71C on Centre Avenue service with no proposed increase in 71A (O95) service ensures overcrowding and pass-ups in this busy transit corridor.
Glassport
Loses the direct connection with North Versailles Walmart
Greenfield
Loses fast, direct service to Downtown via 2nd Ave (instead routing Downtown service through a longer route via Oakland).
Loses direct connections to Homestead, Lincoln Place, Munhall, West Mifflin, most of the Squirrel Hill business district, Duquesne and Walmart in Century Square by eliminating the current 52L, 53L, 65 & 93 service.
Eliminates bus service on lower Greenfield Avenue between Ronald St and Irvine St, currently served by the 58.
Eliminates bus service on Winterburn Ave and Bigelow St, without replacement.
The Busline Redesign team claims that the geography and topography of the neighborhood makes service challenging, which is the exact reason that residents are asking for accessible transit, with steep hills and roads that are not very walkable.
Hays/Lincoln Place
Hays will see the elimination of current 56 bus service along Mifflin Road, with no replacement transit service.
Hazelwood & Glen Hazel
Loss of direct 56 service to Hays, Dravosburg, McKeesport and Penn State McKeesport.
Loss of direct 93 service to Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, North Oakland, Bloomfield and Lawrenceville.
Hill District (High Rise on Crawford/Bedford)
Elimination of 81 service to Bedford & Crawford senior citizen highrise.
The proposed replacement service will be rerouted to Centre Avenue, which residents are concerned is inaccessible given the mobility limitations of many residents in that complex.
Homeville Section of West Mifflin & West Mifflin west of Duquesne
With the elimination of the 52L, Mifflin St and Cipher St in Whittaker, most of Homeville Rd in West Mifflin (all but 1 block), Pennsylvania Ave in the Duquesne Annex Section, and Conlin St will lose all transit service.
Homewood
77 and 86 service will be combined into a single route D86, reducing service on Frankstown Avenue.
Direct service to Baum and Bigelow Boulevards will be discontinued.
D86 will operate to Penn Hills (to Alcoma Apartments only). It will not operate to CCAC-Boyce.
D86 will stop running about 9 pm on Sunday with low service frequencies both Saturday & Sunday/Holiday.
Knoxville
Elimination of the current 44 service in Knoxville along Charles Street and Knox Ave, with no fixed route transit replacement.
McCandless
Loss of all service on Peebles Rd between McIntyre Square and Sample Rd, with no replacement.
Loss of all service on Sample Rd, Presidential Drive to North Park and Hemlock, with no replacement
Mount Lebanon/Scott Township
Loses current 41 service on Bower Hill Road from Kane Blvd to Bridgeville.
Eliminates some substantial portions of the current 36 bus, including all of Cedar Boulevard, and elimination of all transit service south of Cochran Road at Bower Hill Rd, including Gilkeson Rd and the Galleria.
Loses current 38 service on Greentree Rd between Cochran Rd and Swallow Hill Rd, and 38 service between Swallow Hill Rd & Lindsay Rd, both without a proposed transit service replacement.
Mt Oliver
Elimination of 44 service in Mount Oliver on Penn Ave and St Joseph St, with no replacement.
Natrona Heights
Loss of commuter service to Downtown
Loss of direct connections to places between the Tarentum Bridge and the New Kensington Bridge
Loss of direct connections to communities between Downtown and the Hulton Bridge, north of the Allegheny River.
North Oakland
Loss of all 54 & 71C service with no proposed increase in 71A (O95) service ensures overcrowding and pass-ups in this busy transit corridor.
North Versailles/East McKeesport
There will no longer be direct service from North Versailles and East McKeesport to Downtown, which is currently provided by the P76.
Crestas Terrace will be further from transit service requiring a lengthier walk.
The routes in this region are all being broken up and reassembled into different routes connecting to different places, so there will be substantial impacts to current riders.
However, there are some notable improvements. There will be new service between Haymaker Village, Pitcairn, Wilmerding, North Versailles, Walmart, Braddock and Swissvale Station on the N65. There will also be new service on 5th Ave between McKeesport and East McKeesport on the N56, which will connect Penn State, McKeesport proper, Walnut St, Olympia Shopping Center and Versailles. North Versailles will get new service from Walmart on the N63 to Monroeville Mall and Forbes Hospital.
O’Hara Township (VA Hospital)
The VA Hospital will only be served by N92 from East Liberty. For many riders 3 buses and lengthy travel times may be required to reach the VA Hospital.
Penn Hills
Loss of all service (P16) along Universal Road, Long Road, Milltown Rd and Hulton Rd including to Hulton Arbors.
Polish Hill
Loss of 54 service resulting in the loss of direct service to North Side, the popular part of the Strip District, Bloomfield, North Oakland, Oakland, Bon Air.
Loss of 77 service along Bigelow Boulevard resulting in the loss of direct service to Downtown, Baum Boulevard, East Liberty, Penn Hills, Plum and CCAC-Boyce. This is an important connection to the Giant Eagle Market District.
For many in Polish Hill, walking to Herron Ave to catch the replacement service is not easily accessible because of the distance and the topography. Under this BLR Draft proposal, Polish Hill residents will have to transfer to go to the nearest grocery store, which is located only 1 mile away.
Reserve Township
Complete loss of current Route 4 service on Mount Troy Road and loss of all of the Route 7 service, with no transit service replacement. There is only a very small sliver of Spring Garden Rd that will retain service via the proposed D15.
Ross Township
Loss of all service between Siebert Rd and Peebles Road currently served by the 05, with no replacement.
Shadyside
Loss of all 54 & 71C service with no proposed increase in 71A (O95) service ensures overcrowding and pass-ups in this busy transit corridor.
St Clair
Complete loss of 44 bus service in the St. Clair neighborhood on Mountain St, Fisher St, Schuler St and Kohne St, with no fixed route transit replacement.
Summer Hill
Loss of service on Colby Street currently served by the 6, 7 and 15 with no replacement. There is also no appropriate bus stop location on Mt Pleasant Rd at Colby St.
Tarentum
Loss of fast, direct service to downtown currently served by the P10.
There will no longer be service in West Tarentum along Freeport Rd, which are currently serviced by the 1 and the P10.
Turtle Creek & Wilmerding (Airbrake Ave) & Trafford
These communities will see the loss of bus service altogether, with no replacement.
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 advocacycampaign 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 successand 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.
SHOUTOUTto 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.
SHOUTOUTSto Tayveon Kevin Smith and the incredible team from Tech for Society for help with our Visionary Transit Service Campaignand 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!
