Daeja with curly yellow hair, glasses, facial piercings and earrings, wearing a light yellow dress, standing in front of blurred out buildings and grass
Meet Daeja, newest member of PPT and our first digital organizer!
We’ve hired a digital organizer! PPT is growing its organizational capacity bringing its staff from four to five. Daeja has organized in Pittsburgh for 15 years and founded Pittsburgh Feminists for Intersectionality in 2017, a base that she has used to organize across several issues— racial justice, disability justice, justice for those in the carceral system and housing justice, all through the lens of intersectionality. Throughout the last few years Daeja has worked as a communications and event director for several campaigns, welcoming in a fresh legislative perspective to her work. We are excited to bring Daeja’s organizing, political and communications skills into the fold at PPT to strengthen our membership base, grow our digital presence, and grow our work statewide.
Now is the time. Why is now the time? We are in a growth moment here at PPT. With this new role we can reach so many more people in our community and bring them into this growing movement without skipping a beat! With this new role we can focus more on building relationships in our community and turning that into growth in our membership. We can use the tools we have at our disposal more effectively to stimulate that growth. We can refine and strengthen our organizing with more capacity to use these tools throughout our work. PPT is doing so many great things with our members and board and we want YOU to hear about it and JOIN US! This is the way we do it.
What is a girl to do when she’s been organizing for fifteen years? Try something new, of course! I’m the first to admit that I have a lot to learn about advocating for better transit in our county, but one thing I do know is my ability to advocate for intersectional issues. Here at PPT we know that transit is about housing, it’s about class struggle, it’s about food justice, and it’s about equity in all of these things and more. In my time as an organizer I’ve advocated for many things that I know can get better, and transit is no different. It can get better. It will get better. I am here to be a part of that journey.
Some questions that may help you get to know me:
Who do you consider yourself to be?
To most I am a poet, an organizer and a bipolar girl telling her story for change. To myself, I’m just discovering how not to be lost with everybody else.
What is your organizing passion point?
This is a tough one! I’d say I spend a lot of time organizing at the intersections of radical mental health and racial justice. This includes justice for our unhoused, those in the carceral system, our youth, and so many of us disabled folks who are unseen due to invisible illnesses and conditions.
Would you rather listen to music, a podcast, or public radio?
While I chose this question I think it is unfair. I am a complex person.
To work: music
To cook/clean: music or podcast
To think: public radio
To have an existential crisis: all three on shuffle so I don’t see it coming
Sweet or savory?
Savory, always.
What is your favorite vacation?
My secret cabin in a small town a couple of hours away. I read, write, hike, kayak and drink champagne in the hot tub. I also try a new coffee shop every time — but I only like one grocery store! I love water.
What is your theory of change?
Another unfair question. My short answer: we are only powerless if we do nothing.
Cats, dogs, or snails?
I love but am allergic to cats. I cannot take care of a dog, I promise you. I love a good snail.
Hot or cold?
I would live on the equator with a bathing suit on.
Most recent achievements?
I won a thumb war with a teenager.
More about Daeja
Daeja grew up in Pittsburgh’s Northside, in what is now known as the Perry South neighborhood. Her family did not own a car and her mother often carted her and her three brothers onto the bus to grocery shop, go to the movies, doctors appointments, and frankly any other reason a person would have to leave the house daily. As a teenager Daeja took two buses to get to work, often waking up over an hour early and arriving an hour early to work due to the lack of buses running in the evening and on weekends. This has shaped how Daeja has viewed transit—until she moved to other major metropolitan areas that have robust transit systems. Daeja believes that we, too, can have a robust transit system that supports workers, our unhoused, our disabled, those who do not have the ability or privilege to drive, our elderly population, our youth—everyone.
Follow us on social media! Daeja and her comrades at PPT will update you about PPT often!
image description: photo of panelists who spoke during PPT’s “Representing Our Routes: Legislative Roundtable to Fund the Transit Service We Deserve” event.
PPT roundtable highlights how legislators at all levels of government can expand funding to improve & expand our buses, trains, and access to opportunity
On February 20th, more than 70 elected officials, their staff, and local transit advocates gathered to chart a way forward to improve transit service quality by increasing funding for PRT operations. They agreed that whether at the local, County, State or Federal level, Elected Officials all have a roll to play in opening new funding to improve and expand transit service. And that transit advocates can build powerful, active, engaged constituencies to support them in their work.
Check out our video recap below and read the pamphlet published by PPT’s Research Committee that gives a vision for what transit can be for riders in Allegheny County, and see what elected officials at all levels are doing to get it done.
video description: 60-second YouTube video summarizes PPT’s vision for expanding transit service and what elected officials at all levels can do to make it happen.
Big thank-you to all of our panelists for joining us: Kate Burke, PPT Member and retired social worker, Hunter Lim, PPT Member and City of Pittsburgh Environmental Services Worker, Ross Nicotero, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85 President and Business Agent, Senator Jim Brewster, Representative Nick Pisciottano, Allegheny County Councilperson At-Large Bethany Hallam, Pittsburgh District 5 City Councilwoman Barb Warwick, City of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s Chief Operations Officer Lisa Frank, Congresswoman Summer Lee’s Chief of Staff Wasi Muhhamed, and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato’s Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Relations Ernest Rajakone. Also thank-you to all of the elected officials their staff members who joined us at the roundtable: Senator John Fetterman’s Staff, State Senator Lindsey William’s staff, Representative Joe McAndrew, Representative Jessica Benham, Representative Dan Frankel’s staff, Representative Lindsay Powell and her staff, Representative Abigail Salisbury’s staff, Representative Emily Kinhead’s staff, Pittsburgh City Controller Rachel Heisler’s staff, and staff at the City of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure.
See the research pamphlet that outlines PPT’s vision for service and what actions elected officials are taking to fund it below (or see the .pdf here):
Pittsburghers for Public Transit and elected officials are championing legislative opportunities to fund the frequent, reliable and world-class public transit service our region deserves.
A first step: whether you’re a citizen at the ballot box or an elected official on the chamber floor, take the #VoteTransit pledge to say that transit is a core issue.
From Fox Chapel to Brentwood, McKeesport to McKees Rocks, all of us want our communities to be inclusive and vibrant. Public transit gives us a healthy, clean and affordable way for everyone to get around. But for too long, politicians at our local, state and federal level have not funded the transit service our regions need—and that has come at a big cost to our economy, our air quality, and our access to jobs and critical services.
We’re here today to lay out a bold vision for quality baseline transit service, and to celebrate the legislative champions for the public transit operating funding opportunities at the local, state and federal levels that could make this vision a reality.
Investment in quality public transit service yields dividends
Economy
For every $10 million invested in transit service, businesses in the community see $32 million in increased sales.[1]
Equity
Investing in quality transit service is the most profound way to support economic mobility, because commute times are the #1 indicator of whether a household can come out of poverty.[2]
Environment
A trip on public transit emits 55% percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than driving or ride-hailing alone,[3] and significantly reduces local air pollution. This is especially necessary as transportation emissions are the largest contributor to climate change in the US.
Health and Aging in Place
Choosing public transit over a private vehicle reduces an individual’s traffic crash risk by 90%.[4] High-quality local public transit is essential for maintaining independence and social connection for people of all ages.
image description: two people board the T in Downtown Pittsburgh.
The inaction of some elected officials has led to a huge decline in transit service coverage, frequency and span in Allegheny County.
image description: a graph shows Total PRT Transit Service: Vehicle Revenue Hours has declined from ~2,350,00 hours in 2000 to ~1,700,000 in 2020. image description: graph shows Total PRT Annual Ridership: Unlinked Passenger Trips have fallen from ~75,000,000 in 2000 to 62,500,000 in 2020.
In the last twenty years, due to inadequate investment, more than 37% of total PRT transit service has been cut in our region. That has led to a transit system that doesn’t go where we need it to go, long wait times between buses, and service that doesn’t always run at the times we need it.
Over the last 20 years, the funding for Pittsburgh Regional Transit operations has been cut or remained static, which has not kept pace with inflation and rising costs.
image description: a group of transit advocates hold signs outside City Council chambers that say, “Transit Moves us”, and “City Resident, Transit Rider”.
It’s time to have a transit service vision to match our region’s needs.
PPT has developed a vision for the frequent, expansive, quality baseline transit service we want to see, that gets people where they need to go, when they need to get there:
2023 Service Frequency by Median Headway by Route:
1. Service Coverage
All residents should have access to transit within walking distance of their home. Currently, only 48% of residents in the county have walkable access to transit, an 11% decrease from last year.[5] We envision service coverage that more resembles the visionary Transit Development Plan proposal in 2009.
30 routes that were proposed in the 2009 Transit Development Plan have since been cut or were never put into effect.
2. High Frequency
Buses and trains should come at a minimum of every 30 min, and higher ridership routes should come a minimum of every 15 minutes.
Currently, only 25.6% of Allegheny County residents currently have weekday service frequencies of 30 min or better, and only 17.8% of Allegheny County residents currently have Saturday service frequencies of 30 min or better.
3. Available at all hours, to service many kinds of jobs and needs
Transit should run at least from 4:30 am-1:30 am for all rapid, local, and coverage routes, with 24 hour service for high activity locations. 7 day/week service should continue to be available on all routes.
image description: dozens of people wait to board the T in Steel Plaza
Political leaders at all levels of government are championing the funding opportunities that could make our transit vision possible.
City/County
Bulk discount fare purchasing programs are an important source of operating revenue – in the Seattle region this program accounted for more than 50% of Sound Transit’s total fare revenue. But PRT does not currently have such a fare product available for employers to purchase.
City and County officials could advocate for such a program to be implemented at PRT, purchase passes for City and County staff, and then pass Transportation Demand Management (TDM) policies to encourage employers to participate.
State
Governor Shapiro has just announced in his budget address a proposed increase in the allocation of the existing sales tax of 1.75% to the Public Transportation Trust Fund, which provides funding for transit service to all 67 counties. This would bring an additional $40 million annually for transit service in Allegheny County riders. Elected leaders in the House and Senate can support this proposal and expand upon this important opportunity.
Federal
The federal government has long neglected its role in funding transit service. The recently released bill “Stronger Communities through Better Transit Act” introduced by Congressman Hank Johnson, would for the first time provide transit service formula funds to transit agencies of PRT’s size and larger. This bill would allow for an increase of service in Allegheny County of up to 37%, which would be transformative for riders and for our region.
image description: PPT members rally to support expanded transit service, and to fight against the cuts to the 61 and 71 buses, in the Fall of 2023
[1] APTAAdmin. (2023, September 28). Public Transportation Facts – American Public Transportation Association. American Public Transportation Association. https://www.apta.com/news-publications/public-transportation-facts/
[2] Chetty, R., Hendren, N., Kline, P., & Saez, E. (2014b). Where is the Land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States. https://doi.org/10.3386/w19843
[3] Public transportation’s impacts on greenhouse gas emissions. (2021, August 19). Center for Neighborhood Technology. https://cnt.org/blog/public-transportations-impacts-on-greenhouse-gas-emissions
[4] APTA. (2016, September). The Hidden Traffic Safety Solution: Public Transportation. https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uploads/Resources/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/APTA-Hidden-Traffic-Safety-Solution-Public-Transportation.pdf
Image description: Black and white cartoon bus that says McKnight Rd and has a sad face next to a cautionary road sign that Route Closed. Banner beneath the image reads, Transit Riders Need Safe Stops! Take ACTION.
Sign the petition! Demand PennDOT make McKnight Rd safe for all people to move!
Image description: Bus Rider Ruby Williams will lose her stop because of new changes to McKnight Road, calls for better sidewalks and bus stop improvements.
PennDOT is about to begin a $25 million improvement project on McKnight Rd. Not a single dollar is being spent on improving sidewalks or transit access. While we understand that infrastructure upgrades are important, we demand that plans for upgrades include access and safety for pedestrians and transit riders.
PRT bus stops for the 12 McKnight and 012 McKnight Flyer are being eliminated at Stevens Drive and Brookview Lane, leaving riders no choice but to walk or roll their mobility device farther up along the shoulder of McKnight Rd to catch their buses. Bus stops are not the only things being eliminated by this plan, the breaks in the median that allow pedestrians to cross the 4-lane road are also permanently closing. This leaves pedestrians, who already faced extreme vulnerability on this road, exposed to a greater chance of being struck by a vehicle.
Sign the petition to demand that PennDOT restore the PRT stops after construction and build better pedestrian infrastructure into these improvements!
image description: yellow graphic has photos of 6 PRT Board Members who Sara Innamorato controls the appointments of, with text below that reads: “PRT Board: Change is Coming”.
New County Executive Innamorato controls 6 appointees to the PRT Board of Directors. (5 of those appointments are sitting on expired terms, and at least 2 of those seats need to be filled by new people. There’s no denying it: changes are coming to the PRT Board)
We are eager to see appointees who ride transit and who will be fierce advocates for riders and our service.
The new County Executive has the power to immediately appoint visionary leaders to serve on the PRT Board and build a transit agency that serves all of Allegheny County. The PPT Research Committee wrote this quick memo to give background on what the board does and what kinds of people we want to see appointed to be the next leaders of our transit system. If you want to get involved in the Research Committee, sign up here!
Powers & Importance of PRT Board
The PRT Board is an 11-member volunteer body that has the ultimate responsibility for our transit system.
The board approves/denies resolutions to improve transit service, public engagement, fare affordability, worker support, capital investments, etc through the board committees:
Planning and Stakeholder Relations Committee
Finance Committee
Performance Oversight Committee
Technology Committee
They can approve and amend PRT’s annual budgets
The board employs and holds accountable the PRT CEO
And the board can use their position to advocate for policies and practices that support transit justice
How do people get onto the PRT Board of Directors?
The Allegheny County Executive has control over the majority of appointments to the PRT Board. This is why PPT did so much work to ensure that a champion for transit was elected into this position last year. We are excited to have a County Executive who shares our values around community leadership on agency boards, and who has a process to encourage residents to apply for those positions.
Here’s the full breakdown of how Board Members get appointed to serve:
4 Board members are appointed directly by the County Executive
2 members are appointed by the County Executive with County Council approval
1 is appointed by the Governor
1 is appointed by President Pro Tempore of the Senate (Republican)
1 is appointed by the Senate Minority Leader (Democrat)
1 is appointed by the Speaker of the PA House of Representatives (Democrat)
1 is appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives (Republican)
Board members are appointed to 4-yr terms and are term-limited after 3 terms. For more information, check out the Board page of PRT’s Website.
What criteria do we think make for good transit agency board appointees?
We are eager to see County Executive Innamorato appoint Board Members who meet many of these criteria:
Non-car owners who rely on transit
Regular transit riders with disabilities/mobility issues
Active members of local advocates for anti-poverty/transportation justice/economic justice/food access
SNAP/EBT recipients, especially those involved in DHS’ discount fare pilot program
Transit riders from immigrant communities
Transit workers, members of ATU Local 85
People from communities of color
Transportation professionals (urban planners, transit/active transportation engineers) with relevant public transit experience
Here’s the rundown of the PRT Board Members serving at the start of 2024, who appointed them, and when their term expires. The first 6 appointments listed are controlled by the County Executive:
Jeff Letwin
Appointed by County Executive
Board Chair
Chair of Governance Committee and an ex-officio member of all committees.
First appointed July 2005
Term ended 9/01/2023
Term limited, cannot be reappointed
Michelle Zmijanac
Appointed by County Executive
Chair of Performance Oversite and Monitoring Committee
First appointed January 2016
Term ended 9/01/2023
Jennifer Liptak
Appointed by County Executive
Chair of Technology Committee
First appointed March 2017
Term ends 9/17/2024
Stephanie Turman
Appointed by County Executive
First appointed September 2017
Term ended 12/31/2022
John Tague
Appointed by County Executive with Council Approval
Chair of Planning and Stakeholders Committee
First appointed September 2012
Term ended 9/17/2023
Term limited, cannot be reappointed
Ann Ogoreuc
Appointed by County Executive with Council Approval
Chair of Finance Committee
First appointed February 2017
Term ended 9/17/2023
Ali Doyle
Appointed by Governor
Term Ends 7/26
Senator Jim Brewster
Chair of Financial Audit Committee
Appointed by Senate Democratic leader
Term Ended 2/23
Joseph C. Totten
Appointed by Senate Republican leader
Term Ends 10/24
Nick Pisciottano
Appointed by Democratic leader in the PA House
Term Ends
Lori Mizgorski
Appointed by Republican leader in PA House
Term Ends 9/24
Jeff Letwin and John Tague are on expired terms, and they are term-limited. Executive Innamorato has an opportunity to appoint new members to serve in their seats. PPT looks forward to seeing members appointed who meet the criteria that we outline above.
If you’ve got a knack for research and want to help improve our transit system, sign up to join PPT’s Research Committee here:
image description: photo of a person wearing a yellow shirt riding a bus, next to superimposed text that reads, “Tell PA Lawmakers: Support Public Transit. Paid for by Clean Air Action Fund.
Take Action Now to Expand Access for All Pennsylvanians!
Gov. Shapiro needs to include transportation funding in his budget address!
Whether we live in Harrisburg or Pittsburgh, Wilkes Barre or Erie, rural towns or Philadelphia, all Pennsylvanians deserve safe, reliable, dignified access to the places they need to go.
But right now, transit riders and agencies across our state are facing service cuts, fare hikes and layoffs because politicians have not prioritized funding. Riders have been organizing for change and we’re making headway – but we need you to take action now.
On Sunday, January 28, Governor Josh Shapiro previewed his budget address, proposing a 1.75% increase in the state sales tax allocation to public transportation. This vital measure does not create new taxes and will add $282.8 million in recurring, state operations funding to keep transit agencies across the Commonwealth providing their current levels of service. We are excited for this proposal, but after a similar measure stalled in the PA Senate in December, we need to make sure this transit funding is highlighted everywhere and then passed!
Communities thrive when neighbors can access local businesses, healthy food, schools, and healthcare. Every single one of PA’s 67 counties have some form of public transit service. And with increased priority, more public transit would benefit rural communities, small towns and cities across our state.
You can help build a stronger, more connected Pennsylvania by writing to your elected officials and asking them to prioritize public transportation investment today.
image description: Graphic shows a bus shelter in the City of Pittsburgh that lacks accessible connections. Text is overlaid on the image that reads “Bus Stop Audits”.
It’s time to take a closer look at bus stops in Pittsburgh. Join us for a community audit.
Pittsburghers For Public Transit’s Organizing Committee will be conducting a month of Bus Shelter Audits to inventory what is lacking at shelters, and identify where new shelters need to go.
Our first audit will kick off Sunday, February 4th in honor of Transit Equity Day, which is Rosa Parks’ Birthday!
We’ll be looking at shelters all over the city, focusing on the Justice 40 neighborhoods in the north, south, east and west of the city. The first audit will be in Homewood. We’ll then move to the North Side, East Liberty, and Banksville Rd in the South Hills. This last audit will require shuttling to the different bus shelters in cars due to unsafe pedestrian conditions on Banksville Rd. Rides on Banksville Rd, high visibility gear, and all other materials necessary will be provided.
All of our audits are weather permitting. Alternate dates, as well as meeting locations for each neighborhood will be communicated after registration. Please let us know if you have any accessibility needs.
Sign up to join us for a bus shelter audit using the form below!
image description: three PPT Members it at a table. One holds a sign that reads “Ready to Ride!”. Behind them is a red PRT Bus.
Sign up to join PPT and speak to your elected officials about how they can fight for better public transit service.
From the Federal, to the State, to the County, to the Local: elected officials at all levels have a role to play in building world-class public transit. PPT Is driving this narrative home during our upcoming event, Representing Our Routes, Legislative Roundtable to Secure the Transit We Deserve, on February 20th. And we need you to help us invite your elected officials to the table.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be setting up meetings with elected officials and their staff at the local, County, State, and Federal levels. We’ll talk about the quality of transit service in their district, outline solutions that their colleagues are fighting for, and invite them to join the effort.
PPT will hold a training before our meetings to get our teams up to build skills for communicating with elected officials, rehearse our personal stories, and practice asking for our demands. Whether this is your first time meeting with an elected official, or whether you’re a politico-pro, you have a powerful part to play in advocating for service improvement.
If you want to join PPT for a meeting with your elected officials about the need to improve transit service, sign up below! PPT will reach out to you within a few days to include you in our meeting with your elected official.
Image Description: Graphic for Legislative Roundtable says “Representing Our Routes: Legislative Roundtable to Fund the Transit Service We Deserve”. Has a photo of a PRT bus and three riders holding a sign that says “Ready To Ride” with logos for PPT and the date, February 20, 10-11:30a
Join us for “Representing Our Routes: Legislative Roundtable for Securing the Transit Service We Deserve” NEW LOCATION: Pentecostal Church Temple, 6300 East Liberty Blvd
Who: Elected representatives in local, county, state and federal government, Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT), transit riders and press
What: We will hear stories from transit riders about the current state of transit in the region, important research on why investing in transit service yields big dividends, and from legislators at all levels who are leading the effort to deliver world-class transit service in SWPA.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit will host elected leaders at the local, state and federal levels, along with supportive constituent advocates, to lay out a coordinated strategy to fund world-class public transit service in Allegheny County. Investment in quality public transit service yields dividends for our region’s economic growth, for congestion mitigation and better air quality, for healthcare access and more. With a new generation of visionary political leaders who are committed, responsible, and able to deliver results for our region, our time is now.
From Fox Chapel to Brentwood, McKeesport to McKees Rocks, most of us want our communities to be inclusive and vibrant. Public transit gives us a healthy, clean and affordable way for everyone to get around. But for too long, some elected officials have sold us the idea that we can’t have all the transit we need. In the last twenty years, due to inadequate investment, more than 37% of total PRT transit service has been cut in our region. That has led to a transit system that doesn’t go where we need it to go, long wait times between buses, and service that doesn’t always run at the times we need it.
We know what makes our communities thrive. Just as generations past created our library system, our public parks, and Social Security, we too can create what we need for a better future. When transit riders come together with transit workers and elected officials, we can achieve a fully funded, accessible and reliable public transit system, giving all of us the freedom to get where we need to go.
image description: photo of PPT Director Laura Chu Wiens being interviewed on the set of WTAE Listens. On her left and right are photos of Katharine Kelleman, CEO of Pittsburgh Regional Transit, and Rich Fitzgerald, past Executive of Allegheny County.
WTAE Channel 4 agrees: transit rider advocacy plays a critical role in the future of transit service in Allegheny County. PPT’s organizing is featured alongside agency CEO and ex-Executive of Allegheny County
In their first WTAE Listens episode of 2024, Channel 4 got right to one of Allegheny County’s most pressing issues as we enter the new year: public transit service.
Allegheny County’s public transit has been on the minds of many throughout our county. Transit service in 2023 was some of the worst in recent years. A new County Executive at the helm who has been a vocal supporter for better public transit. Moreover, some big local, state, and federal projects have been grabbing headlines with some big potential for our system.
We were grateful that the WTAE production team recognized that rider advocacy has a critical part to play in the future of our transit system. The team invited Pittsburghers for Public Transit to share the airwaves with two of the most powerful voices for public transit in Pennsylvania. Katharine Kelleman is the CEO of Pittsburgh Regional Transit. Rich Fitzgerald is the ex-Executive of Allegheny County and the new CEO of the Southwestern PA Commission. Together these people are responsible for directing how hundreds of millions of federal transportation dollars are spent on projects in our region – and the inclusion of PPT shows that rider and worker advocacy needs to set the agenda.
Check out the segment above, where we outlined the work that we are doing to fight for more reliable and expanded service, affordable fares, increased funding and equitable infrastructure. Ms. Kelleman and Mr. Fitzgerald highlighted the Bus Rapid Transit project, the Bus Line Redesign project, the East Busway Extension to Monroeville and a number of other regional transit projects – all of which PPT is organizing around!
Pittsburghers for Public Transit is fighting for transit riders and workers every day. If you’re a transit rider, transit worker, or engaged neighbor who cares about building access for all, join PPT as a Member to support the organizing!
image description: photo from PPT’s Beyond the East Busway Organizing Fellowship in 2018 that engaged more than 600 residents in the Mon Valley and Eastern Suburbs and identified 3 priority corridors to extend the East Busway.
New $142.3 million grant marks the next phase in residents’ successful campaign to extend the East Busway
Transit riders, residents, businesses, and elected officials in the Mon Valley and Eastern Suburbs have been working hard to extend the East Busway’s benefits into their communities. After years of organizing to uplift the demand for better transit, we are celebrating the U.S. Department of Transportation grant announced last week that will fund an extension of the East Busway to Monroeville, improve sidewalks and pedestrian connections around Monroeville bus stops, and fund some important maintenance on the existing East Busway.
The total USDOT grant will bring $142.3 million to transportation improvements through the Eastern corridor of Allegheny County. $50+ million of the grant will go towards the East Busway extension and transit improvements. $48.5 million will go towards installing variable speed limit signs along 376 that are expected to ease congestion and reduce crashes near the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. And $39 million will be spent to fix flooding on the portions of 376 near the Mon Warf in Downtown affectionately known as “the bathtub”.
PPT has been organizing for extensions to the East Busway with transit riders in the Mon Valley and Eastern Suburbs for years. We celebrate this win.
The East Busway is our transit system’s highest-performing asset, caring for tens of thousands of riders each day and our members have known that it needs to be a spine of transit improvement in our system. Our members have long been organizing for both extensions of the busway and improvements to existing sections, as well as equitable development and affordable housing near East Busway stations.
In 2018, PPT hired 16 community leaders from the Mon Valley to survey nearly 600 residents on our Beyond the East Busway campaign to identify key destinations that should be better served by transit, and to make recommendations about which alignment of an East Busway extension would best meet transit rider needs.
PPT organizing fellows surveyed a broad range of people living and working in the Mon Valley, including parents, single mothers, older adults, people with disabilities and students. Pittsburgh Regional Transit ’s decision to focus on this corridor in their long range NEXTransit Plan (Corridor E) and for this FTA planning grant reflects vocal transit rider advocacy and explicit support by the elected leadership in Rankin, Braddock, and East Pittsburgh in the grant application process.
This investment is long overdue.
There is an extremely high and growing percentage of transit commuters in this region. In fact, four of the municipalities with the highest transit usage in all of Pennsylvania are within these corridors: #3 is Rankin (35.5%), #5 is East Pittsburgh (31.6%), #8 is Swissvale (24.9%), and #10 is Braddock (24.4%).
In addition, five of the ten routes with the highest ridership increases for Port Authority from FY2019 to FY2020 were in the Mon Valley and Eastern Suburbs (P68 Braddock Hills Flyer, 52L Homeville Limited, 69 Trafford, P67 Monroeville Flyer and 55 Glassport), demonstrating that even during a pandemic, transit is a critical lifeline for riders of these routes.
Despite this, transit access is poor for most of these communities: from Braddock to downtown, a bus trip averages 60 minutes even when using the high speed Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway. Due to cumbersome last-mile challenges, a passenger may spend 20 minutes using the busway, but must travel an additional 40 minutes before they enter the borough. A car trip, by contrast, takes 20 minutes from start to finish.
Sign on to ensure that all three of the Mon Valley and Eastern Suburb transit corridor improvements come to fruition!
We are calling for the full implementation of bus rapid transit corridors, in line with Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s NEXTransit plan, along the 376 East to Monroeville, from Rankin to Braddock up to Monroeville, and along the full 61C corridor from Homestead to McKeesport:
