The people riding public transit right now are the essential workers who are keeping our society afloat. They’re allowing our transit system to function. They’re keeping hospitals and grocery stores open. They go to work every day, risking infection and death, to keep us all alive.
Transit is just as essential as housing, utilities, and food. However, whereas institutions have placed moratoriums on eviction and utility shut-offs, Port Authority is moving to reinstitute full fares for these transit riders. That is not the type of action that these riders need.
Port Authority needs to make it easier for these essentials riders to take transit to essential needs, not harder. That means:
Reduced fares
Suspend fare enforcement
Redistribute service to decrowd buses
Improve public comment & participation
Expand transparency about Covid-19 funding & plans
Provide masks & PPE for riders & workers
HAZARD PAY
and more
We need you to bring your ideas for expanding safe public transit for essential workers, and join us at this Virtual Transit Justice Townhall on June 10th, 7pm
Participants can join online via the Zoom program, or with their phones. If you have questions, comments or concerns about accessibility, or want to get involved with planning, please reach out to info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org.
Transit is more important than ever. We need 50 volunteers to help PPT distribute masks to essential transit riders.
Earlier this month, PPT members raised money to purchase 2,100 masks for essential workers who are riding transit every day. Now we need help packaging and distributing these masks over the next two weeks. We’re going to use these distribution days to also promote the upcoming Transit Townhall that PPT is organizing about changes that riders need to see because of Covid-19.
We will also need help packaging the masks. We will take all possible precautions not to share germs, including saying 6′ apart, using makes, gloves, and hand sanitizer.
See the schedule below and sign up with your availability. PPT Organizers will reach out with you to confirm.
Transit is essential. Pennsylvania needs stable funding for public transit.
On Thursday, May 14th, 82 organizations, unions, and elected officials across the state of Pennsylvania called on state legislators to ensure that the PA Turnpike fulfills its $450 million transit funding obligations until 2023, or until a sustainable, dedicated alternative funding source is secured. This coalition of transit riders, labor unions, community development corporations, and community advocates recognize that the viability of our transit system is paramount to both survive the pandemic and to ensure a path forward to recovery.
Recent news reports suggest that the Turnpike is looking to discharge this obligation amid the pandemic, and proposed state legislation would begin that process, with no plan for replacement. Defunding mass transit would impact residents in every county across the State. It would bring the state economy to a grinding halt and diminish access to critical needs like food and healthcare at a moment when both are precarious.
Moreover, COVID-19 CARES Act transit funding must not be used to replace the annual state contribution for transit, as it was specifically intended by Congress to address increased costs and funding shortfalls of transit agencies during COVID-19, and to ensure that mass transit could continue to serve as the economic engines of our cities. Finally, it is egregious that transit agency board members of both SEPTA and the Port Authority of Allegheny County are in positions that allow them to defund our transit systems, and undermine the viability of these economic drivers and community lifelines.
Testimonials from Pennsylvania transit riders supporting this effort:
The full letter and signatories are copied below and sign on to stay abreast of statewide advocacy for public transit:
Dear Governor Wolf and the PA Senate and House Appropriations and Transportation Committee Members,
Public transit is a public utility, and an essential extension of our healthcare and food systems. The COVID-19 crisis has brought into stark relief the need for public transit systems to be considered essential services and as a necessary aspect of our healthcare and food system infrastructure. Public transit moves front line workers in our food and healthcare industries to their critical jobs — nurses, grocery and pharmacy clerks, hospital environmental service workers, pharmacy technicians, food warehouse workers.
We the undersigned stakeholders and community organizations would like to respond to recent news reports and legislation proposing the discharge of the Turnpike responsibility to fulfill its transit funding obligations under Act 89. These reckless proposals would impact residents in every county across the State. Defunding transit would bring our state economy to a grinding halt and diminish access to critical needs like food and healthcare at a moment when both are precarious. The CARES Act COVID-19 transit funding was provided with the intention of ensuring the safety and viability of our mass transit during this crisis, and under no circumstances should it be used to justify dismantling our state funding mechanisms.
While Act 89 was an imperfect solution to the lack of dedicated funding to transit, it was nonetheless a heroic bi-partisan effort that provided stability for our Cities and rural communities and kept our statewide economy moving. That $450 Million annual Turnpike obligation does not step down until 2023. Our state legislators cannot allow for a reduction or for the elimination of those payments until an equivalent or greater dedicated state transit funding source is identified.
The federal government has responded to this crisis with bold action, directing emergency stimulus funds to transit agencies so that they can continue operating as economic engines of our states. Our federal legislators have recognized that maintaining the sustainability of our transit systems is paramount to both surviving the pandemic and ensuring a path forward to recovery. This CARES Act transit funding should under no circumstances be considered a viable substitute or stopgap for the state funding obligation, and must not be co-opted to address Turnpike shortfalls. The feds have done their part, now the onus is on our state.
Our state legislators need to rise to the urgency of this moment. This cannot be done by following the path set forth by Senator Kim Ward’s legislation or Representative Lori Mizgorski’s legislation, which would defund our state’s public transit systems with no plan for reliable, long-term replacement. Representative Mizgorski’s proposals are particularly egregious as she is a Board Member of the Port Authority of Allegheny County, with a responsibility to keep the transit agency financially solvent so that it can fully serve its riders and our regional economy. Her transit-riding constituents deserve better. PA residents deserve better. She and other legislators must take proactive steps to ensure public transit can continue to serve our state economy.
Pat Deon, Chairman of the Board of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is also a Pennsylvania Turnpike Commissioner, which places him in a uniquely compromised position. Chairman-Commissioner Deon must recognize that extricating the Turnpike from its financial obligations cannot be prioritized ahead of the critical mass transit systems that riders across the state count on every day.
If under this worst case scenario, the Turnpike reduces its transit payment obligation, then we propose that the Motor License Fund cover the shortfall. The Motor License Fund was intended to ensure the safety and viability of our state transportation system. However, over the past seven years, the State Police have siphoned billions of dollars from this fund. Annually, they have taken nearly twice as much money as the Turnpike funding that is allocated to mass transit. There is broad, bi-partisan agreement that the Motor License Fund is not the appropriate mechanism to fund the state police, particularly because their allotment far exceeds the amount needed to pay for the state troops which patrol our highways. Now is the moment for that change.
With this letter, we implore Pennsylvania Legislators to take innovative, equitable approaches to establish dedicated, long-term funding for public transit.
Sincerely,
Pittsburghers for Public Transit
Philly Transit Riders Union
Transport Workers Union Local 234
Amalgamated Transit Union Pennsylvania Joint Conference Board
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 85
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 164
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 168
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 241
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 801
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 880
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 956
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1279
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1345
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1436
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1738
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1743
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1958
Commuter Railroad System Division / Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
SEIU 32BJ
SEIU Healthcare PA
United Electrical Workers (UE)
Lindsey Williams, PA State Senator, District 38
Sara Innamorato, PA House of Representatives, District 21
Anita Prizio, Allegheny County Council, District 3
Bethany Hallam, Allegheny County Council, At-Large
Olivia Bennett, Allegheny County Council, District 8
Darwin Leuba, Auditor of O’Hara
1Hood Media
350 Philadelphia
ACCESS Mob
Allegheny County Transit Council
Alliance for Police Accountability
ARYSE
BikePGH
Bloomfield Development Corporation
Bloomfield Garfield Corporation
Borough of Carnegie
Casa San Jose
City County Taskforce on Disabilities, Allegheny County
Clevelanders for Public Transit (CPT)
Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)
CREATE Lab
Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers
Erie United
FMB&Associates
Green Party of Allegheny County
Green Party of Pennsylvania
Hill District Consensus Group
Human Rights City Alliance
Institute for Policy Studies Climate Policy Program
Izaak Walton League of America – Allegheny Chapter
Just Harvest
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
Labor Network for Sustainability
Lawrenceville United
New Sun Rising
New Voices for Reproductive Justice
North Aiken Community Council
OnePA
Perry Hilltop Citizens Council
Philadelphia Climate Works
Philly Neighborhood Networks
Physicians for a National Healthcare Program, Western PA
Pittsburgh Food Policy Council
Pittsburgh Mobile Bus Information Hotline
Pittsburgh Union of Regional Renters (PURR)
Pittsburgh United
Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project (PUMP)
Put People First! PA
Reclaim Philadelphia
Restaurant Opportunities Center United of Pennsylvania
Over 25,000 people are still riding Port Authority transit every day. These are the people who keep our hospitals, grocery stores, and pharmacies open. We rely on them to keep our families safe and fed, so let’s ensure that they stay safe by having the PPE they need.
On April 20th, Port Authority began requiring that all riders wear masks while riding transit, in line with Governor Wolf’s state health order. This was an important move to protect both riders and transit workers. However, masks are in short supply, and we know that low-income residents and our black and brown communities are both most vulnerable to the virus and least likely to have access to protective coverings. We have also seen incidents in other cities of riders without access to masks being subject to police brutality.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit started the Transit Rider Mask Fund to raise money to purchase masks for transit riders. The first round of mask distribution will give out 1,100 masks to transit riders on routes with the highest need.
You can get keep transit riders safe during this outbreak. You can keep our transit system strong.
Donate to the Transit Mask Fund to help PPT get reusable, high-quality cloth masks (with filter pockets) to transit riders who need them. All money raised will go towards purchasing and distributing masks to fellow Port Authority transit riders.
On April 16th, PPT held a press conference with ATU Local 85, Rep Jake Wheatley, TransitCenter and local transit riders to call for hazard pay to transit workers, and increased transit service. Check out the coverage below:
[…] A virtual press conference held by PPT began by playing the song “Essentially Expendable (The Death of Jason Hargrove)” by David Rovics, which was written for Detroit bus driver Jason Hargrove, who died of COVID-19. It was followed by a moment of silence for the dozens of transit workers across the country who have died of COVID-19.
Business manager and president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 85 Steve Palonis gave an updated count on transit workers tested for COVID-19; there are 47 pending results, 19 negative results, and four that have tested positive. He outlined all the ways transit workers are implementing protections and restrictions, but called for greater action from authorities to compensate workers.
“The public and our government’s commitment to frontline workers needs to be extended beyond accommodations and thanks,” said Palonis. “Transit workers deserve compensation for the serious risk they’re taking along with the essential employees.”
He called on Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Lehigh) and other legislators to support the Heroes Fund proposed by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Scranton) to provide a pay increase for essential workers and recruitment incentives through December 2020. Palonis also called for support for House Bill 2380, proposed by Rep. Jake Wheatley (D- Hill District).
Wheatley, who appeared at the virtual press conference, said that HB 2380 would increase wages for essential workers, including raising pay to $15 an hour for employees currently making less than that. Those making $15 an hour or more would make an additional $3 per hour.
“We just really appreciate the workers and what they’re doing to make all of us safe and to continue society, and we think we should support them financially and otherwise,” said Wheatley.
At the press conference, Turtle Creek resident Anna Hudson, who takes the 59 and P68 bus routes, spoke about her difficulty taking the bus to get groceries and other essentials, saying that by the time the already infrequent buses got to her part of town, they were often already full.
PPT executive director Laura Wiens, who hosted the press conference, commended Port Authority’s work to date but called for more action. She referred to Port Authority’s fareless transit as “an act of compassion … as much as it is an act of pragmatism.” She named bus routes that riders listed in a PPT transit survey as being overcrowded, many of which, Wiens notes, “serve Black and brown and lower-income communities, communities whose health outcomes have been hardest hit by COVID-19.”
Wiens underlined the importance of keeping transit safe for everyone, saying, “It’s not a stretch to say that our collective survival depends on the ability of our transit systems to continue to move effectively.”
Wiens also called for more equal access to services like food banks and virus testing since not all residents can use a car to wait in a long line at the food bank, or a way to use drive-up testing clinics.
Image Description: Title Slide of Tech4Society’s analysis of PPT’s Displacement Survey results. Yellow background with black text that reads, “Displacement: An Analysis of Survey Data Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) Tech4Society May, 2020”
Displacement Survey & Analysis
From 2017 to 2018, PPT staffer Crystal Jennings worked to locate and connect with more than 70 people who had been displaced from their homes to get a better picture of the effect that displacement had on their access to food, work, childcare, healthcare, social connections, and other essential needs. Additionally, Crystal documented their ideas about how to stop gentrification and support people at risk of displacement. This survey remains one of the only resources that document direct individual experiences of the displacement process.
Following the survey, Crystal and PPT worked with the CMU student-led group Tech for Society to analyze people’s responses to give a broad picture of the effects of housing displacement.
Efforts are needed on all fronts if we are to overcome these times of crisis.
Since the beginning of March, PPT has joined a number of national alliances to call on our federal legislators to expand resources for public transit, worker protections, affordable housing, healthcare and more.
Read some of these letters below and make sure to follow the partners that are leading up these organizing efforts.
We win when we’re organized. We win when we support each other.
TransitCenter: Broad Alliance Tells White House, Transit Workers Need Better Protection From COVID-19
TransitCenter is a foundation that works to improve public transit in cities across the U.S. On April 22nd, they organized dozens of transit advocacy organizations, transit worker labor unions, and organizational partners across the country to send a letter to Vice President MIke Pence, Whitehouse Coronavirus Response Coordinator, Deborah Birx, and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci. The letter lays out demands for better federal coordination to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for transit workers.
Labor Network for Sustainability: Increase Emergency Relief Funding for Transit Workers
Labor Network for Sustainability is the organized voice within the labor movement that advocates for policies that are ecologically sustainable while also advancing the movement for good jobs and a just transition for workers and communities hurt by the effects of climate change and by the transition to renewable energy. Their #TransitEquity Campaign pushes expanded public transit as a key to benefiting our environment, our cities, and our public transit workers and riders.
On April 21st, PPT joined the Labor Network for Sustainability and a coalition of over 70 organizations to release a letter urging Congress to provide more funding for transit agencies and to cover hazard pay, costs for personal protective equipment (PPE), onsite COVID-19 testing and treatment at work locations.
🚌 Philly ✊ Harrisburg ✊ Pittsburgh 🚌 Riders and workers are ready to organize
More than 100 transit riders and workers from across Pennsylvania came together to bridge the social/physical distance and begin to organize for public transit that moves us past Covid-19.
Led by the Philly Transit Riders Union and Pittsburghers for Public Transit, the call attracted riders and workers from Westster, Central, and Eastern Pennsylvania. Riders and union workers from at least five systems joined – SEPTA, Port Authority of Allegheny County, Capital Area Transit, Mid-mon Valley Transit Authority, Beaver County Transit Authority.
We opened the floor to both riders and workers to share their experiences with our public transit agencies on both sides of the state. We talked about the campaigns that riders are pushing. Both PhillyTRU and PPT are pushing #FairFares campaigns, with many of the same goals. And we talked about how we all have to change our strategies and timelines in light of Covid-19
The huge unifying call to action?
Pennsylvania transit systems across the state are about to see $1.3 BILLION dollars from the most recent Covid-19 stimulus act. This is critical money that will keep our agencies afloat through the hardest of times. We need to make sure that money is spent transparently, democratically, and effectively while protecting workers and riders needs. Transit is essential to keep our cities afloat.
As if Covid-19’s devastating effect on PA transit systems wan’t enough, riders realize that our state is looking at a transit funding cliff in 2023. That’s right. As Act 89 comes to a close, transit systems across PA will lose all dedicated funding from the state. The effects could be devastating for our communities. We have been here before. We have been victorious, but we know that we need to organize if we want to keep our riders and economies moving.
PA transit riders and workers see that there is power in these unprecedented times. We see how the struggles of Covid-19 are bringing advocates together from all different interests – transit riders, transit workers, other labor, healthcare, prison reform, environmental, gender equity, LGBTQ, housing justice, racial justice. Transportation touches on all of these things.
We realize we need to build a broad, statewide movement to center our most vulnerable neighbors and win campaigns for better transit. This is our work, and we’re just beginning. Sign up below to stay in the loop as we go forward.
Add your contact information to stay abreast of this statewide transit rider organizing
PPT & the Philly Transit Riders Union are holding the first-ever statewide transit riders call to organize around our Covid-19 response
The Covid-19 outbreak has shown that public transit is indeed the lifeblood of our cities and state – moving frontline workers and riders to life’s essentials; jobs, food, healthcare, and more. If our state is going to recover from this difficult time and build back better then before, it will need to center public transit and the needs of its riders and workers.
Transit riders and workers across PA are ready to do this work.
RSVP below to join Pittsburghers for Public Transit and the Philly Transit Riders Union for this first statewide transit rider organizing call to share experiences, build solidarity, and strategize about winning campaigns for better transit in PA.
Wednesday, 4/15 // 6pm Social Hour // 7-8:30pm Virtual Meeting
Draft Agenda: – Experiences of PA transit riders & transit workers during Covid-19 – What PA transit agencies have done in response to Covid-19 – How can transit riders support transit workers in these times – How can we organize together to emerge from this crisis with even stronger transit systems to better support our communities
The call will be held via Zoom. Attendees can join from a phone or computer. For questions on how to join the meeting, how to use Zoom, or other accessibility needs, contact Josh at 412-607-7726 or josh@pittsburghforpublictransit.org
Public transit is the lifeblood of our communities, bringing thousands of riders to essential needs every day.
Even during this coronavirus outbreak, Public transit is vital for getting people to essential jobs and businesses. If you are still riding public transit, we want to hear from you. What are you seeing? What buses are full, which are empty? What can Port Authority be doing to keep its riders and drivers safe? How can PPT support you and our system through our advocacy?
Here’s what Port Authority riders are saying about transit during the Covid-19 outbreak:
Rider who takes the P1, 82, 86, 71s & 61s:
I currently work the night shift at the post office. I take a lot of buses – the P1, 82, 86, 71s & 61s – and have noticed crowded buses on both inbound and outbound. Port Authority should not delay action and add more buses so that riders can maintain social distancing and still get to where they have to go.
Rider who takes the 51 Carrick:
I don’t drive so I depend 99% on PAT. The reduced schedule has been a hartship […]. Since only 2/3 of the bus is available to passengers, sometimes it gets too close for comfort […].
Rider who takes the bus:
I don’t work, but I need to get to chemotherapy, other medical, and grocery shopping. I never learned to drive, so the bus is my only way to get where I need to go.
Rider who takes the 59 and P68:
I travel to get groceries. With the front (disability and elderly priority) seating closed off to passengers unless phsyically needed, the back of the 59 and P68 buses are more crowed than usual, meaning riders have to be in close proximity. […] Before COVID-19 I usually got grocery delivery, but with the increased demand, it is almost impossible to get, meaning I have to travel to the grocery store weekly. I want drivers to be safe. They are heroes during this time, but surely it is possible to open up even a few more seats in the front to keep passengers safer too. The bus drivers are incredibly kind, and helpful during this time. […] I am hopeful that they will not cut back on these routes, as passengers are already standing.
Rider who takes the 41 Bower Hill:
Some days everyone is sitting one behind the other with no empty seats between riders.
Are you riding transit during the outbreak? We want to hear from you:
With reduced routes, the larger articulated buses should be used more often. It gets moderatly crowded during rush hours. Also, it is sometimes nearly impossible for short people to get on/off at the back doors, the floor of bus usually hits me at mid thigh or higher if driver can’t pull whole bus to curb
Rider who takes the 82:
I ride the 82 Lincoln outbound and inbound to get groceries and do my business because I have no one else to help me with these things. PAT needs to run more buses and limit passengers cus they’re crowded and un-safe as is.
Rider who takes the 86:
I’m a resident at West Penn Hospital. I need the bus system to get to work everyday. The reduced hours in the morning are making it difficult to get to work on time.
Rider who takes the G1:
Still working downtown as I’m deemed essential. The drivers have been fantastic. Port Authority needs to keep hiring great drivers & maintenance workers that keep buses clean!
Rider who takes the bus and ACCESS:
I have to take the bus in order to get doctors appointments. Port Authority should have more buses running so that they’re not so crowded at times.
Rider who takes the 88:
As a grocery store employee, I continue to have normal shifts scheduled. I do think it’s important for food stores to remain open, and I like my place of work. It’s definitely concerning to get onto a packed back of bus while spending so much energy distancing from each other. I’ve been using a mix of bus and bike so that I’m not on the bus so much. However, I’d not be able to get to work without Port Authority.
Are you taking transit to make essential trips? How can Port Authority protect riders and workers?
I work at UPMC Presbyterian. I travel to Oakland from Garfield/Bloomfield. I’m on the bus maybe 10-15 minutes each way. Port Authority is working hard to get us through this.
Rider who takes the 87 who transfers Downtown to get to the Northside:
I ride two buses to get from where I live in Bloomfield to my job at an information warehouse on the Northside. The 87 outbound is crowded. Port Authority needs to get its buses back on a regular and reliable schedule so that riders don’t have to be waiting more time for transfers around other people and riding crowded buses.
Rider who takes the Blue Line & the bus:
I work at an essential job downtown and cannot afford parking so I rely on the bus. I take the T. There have been a few times since the outbreak that its been too crowded for comfort.
Rider who takes the 51, P1, and 68 Carrick:
I do not have a car or license so I have no choice but to get the bus for wherever I need to go.
Rider who takes the 1 Freeport:
I take the 1 Freeport bus to New Kensington. It still has lots of people on it, but its my only option to get to work. They should limit the number of people allowed on at one time and run more buses.
Rider who takes the 64 and 82:
My buses haven’t been too crowded, but hearing that there are crowded buses worries me. I use the bus to get to Target for essential home supplies, and Aldi in Homestead to get groceries because much cheaper than the Giant Eagle across from my house. Port Authority needs to disinfect the buses regularly and tell riders that the buses are disinfected regularly. They also need to pay PAT drivers hazard pay because they’re risking their health every day to provide a necessary public service.
