Morgan poses in the center of a group photo in downtown Market Square, surrounded by four other PPT members. Everyone is holding up the fliers they’ll be passing out during their early morning canvass for riders to share how the service changes have impacted how they take transit.
PPT Member Morgan Cikowski had an opportunity to work full-time as a PPT Community Organizing Intern. Read what she learned about beginning organizing best practices.
Hello World! My name is Morgan and I am the Activism Team Lead at Patagonia Pittsburgh. I was excited to work with a grassroots organization like Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) because I have been a public transit rider for almost ten years and have deep relationships with other community based organizations, like Grow Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Prison Book Project, who are making change in Allegheny County.
While with PPT, I was directly involved in many projects and pieces of current campaigns including:
Inviting and preparing for PPT Monthly Meetings, both in-person and virtually.
PPT Transit Service Campaign – I went out with PPT members and staff to speak with and listen to riders who were affected by the service cuts on the 61A, 71A, 71C, and 71D under Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
Public Testimony – I helped contact riders we spoke to after the canvasses and helped them to prepare to share how the service cuts would affect their lives in front of the PRT Board.
2024 Strategic Planning and Transit Service Vision – I lead a breakout group in October asking PPT members what we want to work towards in 2024.
New to organizing? So was I! Here are three things I learned about how to organize your community.
Number 1 – It’s okay to not know!
When I first started, I was worried about my lack of knowledge. I didn’t know the “ins and outs” of PRT’s system. I didn’t grow up in Pittsburgh and was unfamiliar with many routes. The reality is, you’re going to encounter a lot of people who know more than you. Don’t be intimidated – embrace it!
So much of organizing is actually just listening. Organizers provide a space for people to share their stories, and find a way to make those stories heard by the community, and ultimately, the people in power.
Number 2 – Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
Looking back, I definitely have a small list of mistakes! Missed follow ups, awkward conversations, disorganization. Don’t sweat the small stuff! Being honest about what you know and need help with is the key to building trust with your team. Other folks can fill in the gaps of knowledge for you. The whole “practice makes perfect” thing is actually true. It’s going to get easier!
Number 3 – Jump in! You have no idea how much your help is appreciated!
Grassroots movements need YOU! Many local community organizations are small in size, and get a lot of their momentum from volunteers and active members. Things like handing out fliers, calling fellow members, or creating artwork are so incredibly helpful. Those may sound simple, but taking tasks off of a staffers plate does not go unnoticed. Much more is possible when there are more hands on deck.
Image Description: PPT Members post at the photo booth. Everyone is smiling and wearing wonderful outfits, bright colors and fun, shiny clothing. The photo booth backdrop is silver streamers, silver ballons and a handmade sign that reads: “THIS BUS IS FOR ALL OF US”.
Job Posting: Digital Organizer at Pittsburghers for Public Transit All applications received by 1/10/24 are guaranteed to be reviewed
Pittsburghers for Public Transit is a grassroots union of transit riders, workers and neighbors. Together we organize for an expanded, affordable and accessible public transit system that meets all needs, with no communities left behind.
We are a member-led grassroots union. Our members vote annually for fellow members to join our Board of Directors, which manages our staff and finances. They create and vote to approve our yearly campaign plans. And they put in the volunteer work on our committees to win those campaigns.
We are creating a better transit system for everybody, for our city and our region, by organizing together as poor and working-class people in a multi-racial movement for transit justice – and we need you with us in this fight.
Digital Organizer Position Summary
The PPT Digital Organizer will work with the Digital Organizing Director, the rest of the PPT staff, and the PPT Membership to grow our base and win our campaigns by building out digital infrastructure, online-to-offline organizing funnels, and strategic communications.
This is not an entry-level position; we require applicants to have experience in digital infrastructure-building, systems development, strategic communications, campaign planning, community organizing, and facilitating meetings, trainings, and events. It’s a big broad job, and we work together to support each other so we can win.
PPT has a small paid staff team, and close collaboration is required between all staff positions and our 260 active members. The full-time Digital Organizer will start in mid-February 2024 and work out of our Garfield office, but may work part of their schedule remotely. The Digital Organizer will report to the Digital Organizing Director.
Primary Job Responsibilities
Membership Program Management: Cultivate a PPT Membership program that builds strong, caring, personal relationships that move people to action. We are a family. We fight for each other and our community. That means we will need you to:
Grow the number of members – build systems with the team to increase the number of people active in our membership
Increase engagement – deepen the membership’s involvement in our organizing; including participation in our Board elections, strategic planning, committees, petition drives, rallies, actions and events by implementing tools and systems.
Develop leadership – bring members up our leadership ladder to take a bigger role in leading our work; including telling their story, public speaking, event facilitation, media relations, running for our board of directors, and other organizing/advocacy/leadership skills
Revenue – Work with the team to increase the amount of funding that we bring in through our membership program. Strong income from our membership program gives us the autonomy we need to take on rich and powerful interests.
Digital infrastructure-building: co-create systems to maximize the efficacy of the digital and ‘ol-fashioned community organizing tactics.
EveryAction! Grow an organizational culture committed to building a powerful EveryAction database and advocacy/communications toolset to win our campaigns
Email! Help strengthen an email program that builds on our newsletter list (one of our strongest organizational assets) by leveraging timely, tailored, and persuasive personal and bulk emails to share news and drive engagement.
SMS! Improve our SMS communications strategy to build relationships with existing and potential/future members and contacts by co-developing strategy that makes text outreach easy, engaging, and as personal as possible.
Leadership ladder! Build digital and person-to-person organizing systems that operationalize our Leadership ladder to bring more and more contacts to higher levels of leadership within the organization
Website! Assist the Communications Director with turning the PPT website into an organizing powerhouse that brings on new members, drives participation in campaigns, and broadcasts news about our important campaigns.
Social media! Work with the staff team and membership to establish a social media strategy that incorporates online tactics to build real-life offline engagement.
Strategic Communications: co-develop and execute communications plans that change the narrative and uplift the power of transit riders and transit workers. Use media outlets of all shapes and forms to spread the good word about PPT locally, statewide, and nationally.
Tell the story of PPT’s work and transit rider/worker successes in the media that we directly control – our blogs, videos, photos, websites, reports, mailings, online communities, and social media pages.
Help design a visual brand that is synonymous with transit rider power and has so much love that it’s irresistible for people to join in. Design engaging digital and print pieces for our communications tools, resources, and campaigns.
Work with reporters at various local, statewide, and national news media outlets to leverage their reach and promote PPT’s organizing. Help manage news media relations, communications, and press strategy
Develop leaders from PPT campaigns and member-led Communications Committee to take an active role in all aspects of our strategic communications and build more leaders – from writing to speaking, to interviewing, to graphic design, to managing comms tools and strategy.
Qualities We Are Looking For
Versed in Strategic Infrastructure. You have experience building and managing digital infrastructure to strengthen organizations. Systems and tools should be clear, intuitive, and accessible for staff and volunteers to utilize.
Accountability Focused. You are a rigorous systems thinker who can create digital infrastructure to accurately assess our current engagement capacity, identify opportunities for growth, and demonstrate the efficacy of different organizing and communications strategies.
Visionary and Committed. You are an organizer at heart, working towards justice for our communities. You are caring, invested, and accountable to your fellow staff, PPT’s democratically-elected board leadership, and membership.
A Swiss Army Knife. You are resourceful and creative, willing to do what it takes to make a project succeed. You can handle a lot in a fast-paced, multi-faceted work environment
In(ter)dependent. Can work independently, self-managing your time, while maintaining close communication with remote teams. You are flexible and know that changing the world doesn’t always happen between 9 am and 5 pm.
Required Qualifications
Support Pittsburghers for Public Transit’s mission, vision, and theory of change
Deep personal investment in the intersectional struggle for transit justice, housing justice, disability justice, racial justice and environmental justice.
Experience in multi-racial, multicultural settings
Spreadsheet prowess and admin-level proficiency in 21st-century office tools: Google Suite, Zoom, Asana etc
2-3 years of managing digital systems and infrastructure for an organization like CRMs, websites, and tools for digital activism
2-3 years of community organizing experience, preferably with grassroots member-led base-building organizations or unions, moving people to volunteer, donate, attend events, or take action for social change
2-3 years of experience with strategic communications, creating content that moves people from passive participation to active leadership
Access to reliable internet, phone, and remote office arrangements. PPT provides a stipend for setting up a home office
Preferred Qualifications
1+ years experience in PPT membership, and familiarity with Pittsburghers for Public Transit’s community and organizational culture.
1+ years experience in creating training materials and training organizational staff.
Experience managing an organization’s Every Action CRM and toolset
Ability to write and speak a second language, preferably Spanish
Location and Travel
Our staff must be willing to work a flexible schedule, including nights and weekends.
The PPT Digital Organizer will work out of our Garfield office but may work part-time remotely. Staff must be willing to travel throughout Allegheny County, and occasionally throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
Although PPT is a public transit advocacy organization, we often work in neighborhoods and with residents who have limited or no access to public transit, so we prefer applicants to have reliable access to a car.
Salary and Benefits
This is a full non-exempt position. Salary is $52,500 a year, and includes high quality, fully-paid family health care, bus pass, 401k retirement contributions, and generous paid leave time. PPT is committed to an access-focused culture centered around Disability Justice principles and believes in a workplace culture with a healthy work-life balance.
How To Apply & Hiring timeline
Please send a resume, cover letter, and writing sample to Dan Yablonsky, PPT’s Digital Organizing Director, at dan@pittsburghforpublictransit.org. To ensure prompt attention make sure to put “PPT Digital Organizer” in the subject line. References will be asked for candidates who advance in the process. Candidates will only be contacted if our hiring team chooses to pursue an interview.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, familial status, sexual orientation, national origin, ability, age, or veteran status.
All applications received by January 10th, 2024 are guaranteed to be reviewed, but the position will be open until filled. PPT’s target start date for the new hire is February 14th.❤️
image description: text reads “…did someone say free” above a logo for the Transit app. Thre large question marks are in the background of the image
Transit App unveils new paid subscription, taking away access to key features. Free access is available, just message Transit in their app.
Launched in 2019, Transit app has become one of the nation’s leading real-time public transit trackers. For those unfamiliar, Transit uses a crowdsourcing model to collect data of live bus times via user tracking and user engagement. Similar to the navigation app Waze, Transit app will collect data from your trip, and use that data to provide more accurate information to users. The app also asks questions such as “Was your bus on-time, early, or late?” and “How crowded was your bus?”
The app quickly became an important tool for many riders. Transit app reports that “Each month, more than 75,000 people in the Pittsburgh area open the Transit app for their commute. On any given day, approximately 40% of Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) riders will open Transit to assist with their trip, and about 75% of all app-based PRT fares are sold through the Transit app.”.
But unfortunately for transit riders, the app just rolled out a new paid subscription service, Royale. With this new feature, non-paying users will no longer have access to bus departure times if the stop is outside of a few block radius.
Transit app’s policy lead, Stephen Miller, was recently said in a WESA article on the MovePGH, “if riders can’t afford a subscription that they can send a message through the app and Transit will provide one, ‘no questions asked.’”
We think riders should have access to our public data, without cost being a barrier. So according to Transit, here’s how riders can get free access:
Click “Upgrade to Royale,”
Scroll down to Can’t afford it? and click the “Learn more” button. Here you will encounter Transit’s explanation for why they’re requiring a paid subscription to access certain features. They say they are “offering a limited number of free subscriptions”
Click “just send us an email and ask” and you are brought to their form requesting a free subscription. You are prompted to provide your email address and to answer the question, “How does the Transit app help you get around?”
Transit App received our City’s public support and promotion, which resulted in the rapid growth of its user base over the 2 years of the MovePGH pilot. They have been collecting and monetizing transit rider data, and are now charging those of us who provide their data to access basic services. It’s also worth noting that Transit App itself collected data showing that the base of their users in the Pittsburgh region are disproportionately very low-income. If we, the riders, are the ones collecting the data, why do we have to pay to be able to benefit from that data, and particularly given the knowledge that most riders can’t afford to pay?
How PRT’s app can be improved:
While Pittsburgh Regional Transit does have an official real time transit app too (Ready2Ride), Transit app is easier to use and shows multiple transit mode options. We believe that access to transit information should be free and widely available by all residents, even through the Transit app, given that they were selected and promoted by the City of Pittsburgh as a key partner in the MovePGH initiative. But this is good time for PRT to invest their resources into developing a comparably good and free option for riders. These are some of the key fixes that we want to see from PRT:
PRT’s policy bars all riders with a disabled fare card from using the in-app mobile fare payment unless they relinquish their card at customer service. But with technology breaking, batteries dying, and inconsistent internet, why would riders hand in their only secure way to pay fare? PRT should change the policy to allow all riders to benefit from new technology and allow riders with disabilities to both have access to a disabled fare ConnectCard AND comparable services on the app.
All the features should be available in PRT’s Ready2Ride app without requiring riders to navigate to the second page.
When riders select “Track My Vehicle”, they should be able to see a map right away.
Navigating the app is not intuitive – riders have to dig through several menus to find real-time information. The most common features require riders to click through several menus to find basic information.
App is not connected with ConnectCard – riders cannot see their ConnectCard Balance or reload a card on it. It operates entirely separate from physical ConnectCard and new balances on the Connect Card should be reflected immediately.
There is no feature to tell riders “where they are” in relation to the bus they need to take. (For example, if location services are turned on, Google places a moving blue dot to represent the users, and where they are on a map in relation to their surroundings and names landmarks and transit stop icons nearby).
Riders deserve access to quality, real-time transit route and planning information for free, whether through Transit App in the interim, or through a future iteration of the PRT Ready2Ride App. And this is just another reminder for the City of Pittsburgh that public-private transportation partnerships are inevitably harmful for those with the least means and access.
image description: graphic shows a speech bubble that points to a phone. Inside the speach bubble is the text “Help Make PPT’s Strategic Plan”. On the phone is the text “Submit your comments via our form!”
Want to help shape the future of transit justice in Pittsburgh? This is your last chance to help PPT create our 2024 strategic plan–and the future of our organizing!
PPT is dedicated to a democratically-made strategic plan, which means that your feedback and visions are an integral part of the creation process. We’ve put together a digital form so that you can tell us all your thoughts. Our staff and PPT Board of Directors will then combine all the feedback we’ve gathered–both here and at October’s workshop–into a final draft that we’ll vote on at our end-of-year party!
All feedback is welcome, no matter how big or small. After all, you’re the experts in using Pittsburgh’s transit system!
Click the button below to give feedback via our Google form, which has both English and Spanish text. Quick! We’ll be closing the form next week (Wednesday, November 22), so now’s the perfect time to get started!
Image description: PPT members celebrate at the 2023 Summer Member Picnic
Discount Fare Pilot for SNAP Households in Allegheny County is extended indefinitely! This is a good sign. Lets push for a fully free, permanent program for all.
Riders participating in the Allegheny County Discounted Fare Pilot Program received notice from the Department of Human Services (DHS) on October 18, 2023, that they can participate in the pilot for an indefinite length. This news comes at a pivotal time before the pilot ends. The DHS evaluated its findings to decide whether to make a pathway forward to establish a permanent form of transportation relief for SNAP users.
The additional 30 days is valuable because DHS published a dashboard of information from the initial sign-up, showing that the largest category of participants in the pilot previously paid for fares using cash. Riders on Pittsburgh Regional Transit do not receive free transfers within 3 hours, thus making trips more expensive. These are the same residents who heavily rely on transit but often pay a higher portion of income on fares and do not receive employer, education, or electronic transit discounts. Read more about the pilot data and rider stories from our blog.
The Fair Fares Coalition thanks DHS for seeing the value of conducting the pilot and offering extended time for participants to receive support longer. We see this as a step towards making fare relief permanent – a goal riders have been fighting for years now. We know that alleviating the burden of fares allows riders with the greatest transit dependency, fewest options, and the least ability to pay the freedom to budget for other necessities and opens the door to access vital resources and amenities that improve quality of life.
While this is short-term relief for some full fare and half fare participants, we are still calling for a permanent program that gives ALL SNAP households in Allegheny County zero fares.
We are on the edge of winning a historic victory for the Fair Fares Campaign!
Show support for a permanent free fare program for all SNAP households in Allegheny County
image description: graphic that contains photo of County Executive-Elect Sara Innamorato and text that reads “Congratulations, Sara” “Transit Champion & County Executive-Elect” over a photo of PPT Members at a Harrisburg rally and an illustration of a red and yellow bus.
Join us in congratulating County Executive-elect Sara Innamorato on her victory! Sara put out a big vision for what public transit can be in our county. Sign on to say you’ll support her in making it real.
Congratulations to incoming Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, the first woman to hold the role! We celebrate the fact that County Executive-elect Innamorato both lifted up the need and shared her aspiration to build a World-Class Transit System in her acceptance speech on Tuesday evening, to big applause.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit is ready to work alongside her to ensure that the needs of transit riders are met, by having frequent and reliable service countywide, by ensuring a safe and dignified working environment for transit workers, with affordable fares, and with dedicated, robust transit infrastructure on our streets. With these investments, we serve everyone and not just transit riders: World Class Transit in Allegheny County will improve our air quality, will make our streets safer and less congested, will make development more affordable to build and our region more desirable and attractive to new residents and businesses so we can all thrive.
Image Description: County-Elect Sara Innamorato joins a Transit for All PA! press conference to introduce a new bill to expand funding for PA’s largest transit agencies.
During her campaign for County Executive, Sara Innamorato made building a World-Class Transit System in Allegheny County a core part of her vision.
🚌 Appoint at least one rider and one operator to the PRT board
🚌 Put a moratorium on service reductions and cuts
🚌 Create a permanent zero-fare program for all SNAP/EBT recipients
🚌 Build more affordable, transit-oriented development
🚌 Work with Mayor Gainey and other local leaders to invest infrastructure dollars to improve transit, and pass pro-transit zoning reforms at the municipal level
🚌 Establish more communication between PRT and the community and transit advocates
🚌 Fully implement a bulk pass discount program to get large employers to pre-pay for transit passes for their employees
🚌 Seek PILOT [Payment in Lieu of Taxes] payments or additional taxes from large employers and non-profits
🚌 Create a new position at PRT focused on language accessibility and disability access
We’ve shown the power and potential of a #VoteTransit campaign to educate candidates for office on transit needs, and to motivate residents to vote based on candidates’ positions on our demands.
image description: Sara Innamorato speaks PPT Board Member Teaira Collins during a Spring ’23 #VoteTransit bus ride along.
image description: top of image has PRT’s logo for the Bus Line Redesign. Bottom of the image has a photo of a blue articulated bus on the East Busway.
PRT’s new Bus Line Redesign project holds incredible potential and potential pitfalls. Riders need to get involved to demand a system that’s the right size for all of our needs.
Its finally happening. PRT has been speaking for months about doing a redesign of the entire bus network after it was identified as a top priority in their NexTransit plan. Just last week they issued a press release to say that the redesign process is moving forward, full steam ahead.
A redesign of the system holds tremendous potential for riders. There’s a long list of issues that have been plaguing our service for years, and they’ve gotten exponentially worse since the start of the pandemic. Infrequent schedules, sparse route coverage, unpredictable arrivals – these are all things that a redesigned bus network can improve.
However, a complete redesign of the system also holds serious perils to deepen the downward spiral that we’ve seen for our transit service. Check out the bottom of this blog for some thoughts that PPT members put together after the downtown redesign was announced – this feedback even more relevant as PRT works on the entire system.
PRT’s outreach phase 1 will run through the end of 2023. There are surveys t o fill out, public meetings to attend, and pop-up events to stop by. Check out all of these things on PRT’s Bus Line Redesign Engage Page and this blog. It is critical that riders get involved in this process to speak up for changes that will improve our system.
PRT has a number of public meetings an pop-up events scheduled this fall. We’ll share what they have currently have listed here, but they’ll hopefully add more so we encourage riders to check out their website for a full list of everything they have planned.
See below for any open surveys or upcoming meetings and events!
In-Person Pop-Up Tent – Atwood Station Oct 31, 2023 10:00 AM – Oct 31, 2023 1:00 PM @ Atwood Station, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
In-Person Pop-Up Tent – Northside Farmers Market Nov 3, 2023 3:00 PM – Nov 3, 2023 6:00 PM @ Allegheny Commons Park, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
In-Person Pop-Up Tent – Sto-Rox Public Library Nov 14, 2023 10:00 AM – Nov 14, 2023 1:00 PM @ 420 Chartiers Ave, McKees Rocks, PA 15136, USA
Bus Line Redesign Public Meeting #1 Nov 14, 2023 5:30 PM @ Online Event
Bus Line Redesign Public Meeting #2 Nov 16, 2023 11:30 AM @ Online Event
In-Person Pop-Up Tent – Monroeville Mall Nov 20, 2023 11:00 AM – Nov 20, 2023 2:00 PM @ Monroeville Mall, Mall Circle Drive, Monroeville, PA, USA
In-Person Pop-Up Tent – Hill District Nov 30, 2023 6:00 PM – Nov 30, 2023 7:30 PM Jeron X. Grayson Community Center, 1852 Enoch Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA
Feedback from PPT members about how PRT should approach this redesign
Over 50 transit riders attended our meeting this spring to talk about the Downtown Bus Network Redesign — including several Spanish speaking residents and riders with disabilities. As an organization PPT has had a difficult time understanding how to weigh in on the network redesign proposals. There is a LOT of information and data shared on the website, which can make it intimidating or confusing to contribute feedback.
But even as there is a lot of information being shared, much of it doesn’t feel like it addresses the main concerns that riders voiced around the redesign process, namely:
around the network redesign impacts to riders’ total trip times (including walking to their destinations or timing a transfer or waiting for a bus that has enough space to board)
how much, precisely, a redesign would improve service reliability and on what lines
around addressing overcrowding and bus pass ups of passengers
around the access to safe, accessible, comfortable and dignified infrastructure for transit.
We think that the goal of public engagement around public transit should be to ask riders to consider what changes would improve the system as a whole, with the least overall harm to riders and the greatest benefit (particularly to our most vulnerable riders). In order to do that, and not have riders merely consider and give feedback on their own individual experience and benefit/harm, there needs to be a set of data points that clearly speak to the rider experience as a whole.
With that in mind, we brainstormed some questions for which information could be presented that would allow the public to more equitably and effectively consider different proposals, as well as the value and need for a bus network redesign. This is not an exhaustive list, but starts to provide metrics and information that more closely align with riders’ needs and addresses their concerns.
From PRT’s perspective, what are the primary goals of the downtown bus network redesign? In some basic way, who is this bus network redesign being done for? Could those same goals be met without a whole bus network redesign, and instead through minor service adjustments, by adding bus stops, or with infrastructure improvements (like more transit signal priority or more bus only lanes? This is an important question to clearly answer for riders because both currently-proposed alternatives will result in substantial changes to transit rider access, including the removal of many stops in parts of Downtown that will no longer be serviced. From our discussion, it was clear that riders are very concerned that both proposals will make their trips worse, and asked whether the bus network redesign was even necessary.
How many people will have to relocate from an existing bus stop under each of these proposals? How regularly are buses kneeling at those stops, indicating that they are serving passengers with lower mobility?
What is the closest distance for those passengers to walk to a new bus stop serving the same routes?
How much will the network redesigns improve service reliability, and to which lines? How much are reliability improvements specifically attributable to the network redesign, and could service reliability be substantially improved instead through transit signal priority, other infrastructure improvements or schedule modifications?
Has PRT modeled bus stop crowding on the new stops (and possible bus pass ups), after old stops are eliminated? Has PRT modeled how any additional crowding will affect bus stop loading and route scheduling?
How did or how could stop accessibility and comfort and accommodations to passengers (stop and “last mile” infrastructure) be central to determining which corridors are prioritized for transit? What shelter or streetscape improvements will be these corridors in the network redesign?
Is either network redesign proposal likely to grow or shrink ridership? How is that determined?
From our conversations, service reliability and total time for transit trips are the highest priority for riders as outcomes from this network redesign. It’s important to note that from the perspective of riders, however, “total time for a transit trip” includes the walking to and from a stop to a destination, waiting times, bus crowding, and transfer schedule coordination, not just the time spent sitting on a bus in downtown. In fact, a lot of riders would prefer to sit on a bus longer Downtown if it gets them closer to their destination or to their transfer stop, as long as the schedule is reliable.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit wants this the Bus Line Redesign process to be successful, to yield positive and equitable outcomes for riders, and to have robust and thoughtful public participation. For that to happen, we need riders to speak up and we need the agency to engage us with accessible and relevant information and events.
After 12 years of being in this office, current County Executive Rich Fitzgerald has reached his term limit, and will vacate the seat in January, 2024. That means that this year’s election for County Executive on November 7th is going to decide which newcomer is going to take the seat and lead the whole of Allegheny County.
Of all political positions, the Allegheny County Executive (the #ACE) has the most power to address the needs of transit riders. The #ACE has the power to hire and fire Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT)’s CEO, appoint many of the transit agency board members, decide and approve the budget for PRT, the County Health Department, the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, and Allegheny County Economic Development, among other agencies. This translates into a lot of opportunity– around transit rider representation and decision-making power at PRT, around transit funding growth, around accessible, dignified and safe infrastructure, around service expansion and affordable fares, and around the needs of transit riders to be able to find quality affordable housing near quality transit.
Tens of thousands of residents of Allegheny County depend on public transit to connect them to life-sustaining services, grocery stores, educational centers, and employment opportunities. We need a County Executive that believes that mobility is a right, and who understands that high-quality, affordable, and people-focused transit is necessary to address the persistent inequalities in health and economic outcomes between different communities in our region, and to have an economically vibrant region.
Add your name to say that these transit justice demands are important for the next Allegheny County Executive
Make sure you’re ready to vote in the General Election on November 7th
With all of that at stake, PPT has worked with our membership to develop a platform with some of the top demands that transit riders have for the incoming #ACERace.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit, a grassroot union of transit riders, workers, and neighbors who wants to see candidates for the Allegheny County Executive dedicated to:
1. Rider Representation and Board Accountability In Decision-Making at Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT)
There are different ways to ensure that riders have a voice on the Pittsburgh Regional Transit board. The Allegheny County Executive could propose that PRT have board seats that are elected by Allegheny County voters, and/or have special transit rider seats that are filled by a nomination or appointment processfrom stakeholder organizations like Pittsburghers for Public Transit, the Committee for Accessible Transit, the Allegheny County Transit Council, and Age-Friendly Pittsburgh.
Board members’ transit usage should be audited and published annually, to make transparent their familiarity and knowledge of the transit system that they are governing. This is a practice in some other transit agencies nationally and could compel all members of the board to take transit more regularly.
As part of the Board appointment process, the #ACE should ensure that PRT board members reflect geographic diversity of the region, with a particular emphasis on recruiting riders from the Mon Valley for the positions.
PRT Board meetings should be accessible and meaningful for riders to attend, with space for Board members to hear and discuss feedback from the public.
The Allegheny County Executive should commit to raising local, state and federal funding for the agency, particularly operating funding. The #ACE could lead a local funding referendum to be able to sustainably expand service.
The Allegheny County Executive should work with PRT and employers to pass Transportation Demand Management (TDM) legislation, requiring large employers and developers to provide free transit passes to employees. This is an important way to grow ridership in Allegheny County, to have dedicated and expanded funding for our transit agency that is paid for by corporations, and to support recruitment and retention of workers through this transportation incentive. More than 50% of the fare revenue collected by the Seattle area transit system is through bulk discount fare passes purchased by employers for their employees, not individual transit rider fare purchases. PRT is finally piloting a bulk discount fare program for employers and developers, which should be paired with county legislation on Transportation Demand Management.
3. Commitment to Fully Accessible Transit
Ensure that PRT communications and branding are in Spanish and other languages, particularly in local communities with growing populations of immigrant residents.
Commit to recruitment and appointment of people with disabilities in all departments of PRT and all county agencies.
4. Commitment to Affordable Housing near High Quality Transit
Support the passage of a countywide inclusionary housing to ensure that transit riders can afford to live in neighborhoods experiencing development that have better or more frequent transit.
Require the County Housing Authority prioritize the funding and development of low-income housing by existing transit assets.
Provide funding and expertise to municipalities to plan for development to integrate affordable housing, retail and social services, and quality transit.
5. Commitment to Reliable, Expanded Transit Service
The #ACE needs to recognize that the workforce shortfall is a serious crisis for our transit system and riders, and one that will not be reversed without an aggressive recruitment and retention strategy. PRT is now short over 200 transit operators, and that gap will continue to grow with the wave of retirements scheduled for this year and next; in fact, the attrition now each month is higher than the number of new employees that PRT is even able to hire and train. The #ACE must work with PRT to ramp up its recruitment strategy and incentives, and speak with transit workers to address morale so that workers feel supported in the role.
Require that PRT has a realistic plan to restore pre-pandemic service levels.
Create a plan at PRT to increase the frequency and service span to include overnight routes.
6. Commitment to Affordable Fares for Low-Income Riders
Commit to a permanent zero fare program for all SNAP/EBT households in Allegheny County after the low-income discounted transit pilot ends. Identify and allocate funds to ensure that the County Department of Human Services has sufficient resources to sustainably run the program.
Add your name to say that these transit justice demands are important for the next Allegheny County Executive
Image description: PPT Member gather at a press conference 10/27/23 before giving the #NotMyBRT petition to the PRT Board of Directors
Let’s Turn This Bus Around! Riders present #NotMyBRT Petition with a 500+ signatures to reverse the October 1 Service Changes and give us more transit, not less.
At the Friday, October 27th PRT Board Meeting, transit riders were back for the second time to demand that the October 1st service changes and the downward of trend of PRT’s service coverage and reliability MUST BE REVERSED! This time, riders held a press conference and presented the Board with a 500+ signature petition on a big, 8-foot wide, painted purple plywood cut-out of a bus! Riders then went inside to the Board and delivered an hour of public testimony detailing how cuts on the 61, 71, and nearly 40 other routes have been devastating for their access to healthcare, childcare, food and jobs.
Beechview resident and fellow transit rider Laura Szanfranski told the board:
“I do not drive due to vision issues and ride public transportation regularly to get to and from work and medical appointments… In June of this year I received a life-saving kidney transplant along with 3 other procedures all in one very large surgery at UPMC Montefiore… What normally takes 15 to 20 minutes by car to get to UPMC Mercy or UPMC Montefiore now takes me well over an hour depending on the quality of service PRT is providing that day.”
Image Description: screenshot from PRT’s website that shows the average on-time arrival for PRT’s buses has declined month after month in 2023
The October 1st changes continue the downward trend of service reliability at PRT. PRT says that these cuts were made to create efficiencies that would allow service to be added to other lines, but that is not what is happening. Month after month in 2023, riders have experienced worse and worse service reliability. PRT’s Performance Metrics and System Data page shows that on-time bus arrivals have declined from approx 72% in January of 2023 to 64% in September of 2023. We’ll keep monitoring their website to see how these on-time performance numbers change for October 2023.
We need to keep the pressure on. Join PPT at our November Meeting to help riders design a campaign to build a transit service that meets all of our needs
See the news coverage from the #NotMyBRT petition delivery to the PRT Board
Image Description: Graphic shows photo of Sara Innamorato and photo of Joe Rockey. There are check boxes below each candidate’s image that say “#VoteTransit Q&A” and “Transit Ride-Along w PPT”. Sara Innamorato’s boxes have check marks. Joe Rockey’s do not
Transit riders! Make the pledge to #VoteTransit on November 7th in the Allegheny County Executive Election. We need a leader in office who will do the most for transit riders and our transit system.
Voters will roll to the polls to elect a new leader for the MOST POWERFUL REGIONAL OFFICE FOR PUBLIC TRANSIT, the Allegheny County Executive. The County Executive appoints a majority of PRT Board members, they control billions of public dollars, and set policy that can transform transit. Riders need to learn the public transit platforms that each candidate will bring to office and VOTE for the candidate who shares our vision.
This past Spring, PPT issued a #VoteTransit Questionnaire to each of the candidates for County Executive. We wanted to give the candidates an opportunity to lay out the priorities that they have for public transit, affordable housing, economic and environmental justice.
We also want riders to get familiar with these candidates and pledge to #VoteTransit for an Executive who will do the most for transit riders and our transit system.
Here’s a summary of what each candidate said in our #Vote Transit Candidate Questionnaire:
Sara Innamorato Democrat 38 Years Old
In PPT’s #VoteTransit Questionnaire, Sara commits to use the office of Allegheny County Executive to:
🚌 Appoint at least one rider and one operator to the PRT board
🚌 Put a moratorium on service reductions and cuts
🚌 Create a permanent zero-fare program for all SNAP/EBT recipients
🚌 Build more affordable, transit-oriented development
🚌 Work with Mayor Gainey and other local leaders to invest infrastructure dollars to improve transit, and pass pro-transit zoning reforms at the municipal level
🚌 Establish more communication between PRT and the community and transit advocates
🚌 Fully implement a bulk pass discount program to get large employers to pre-pay for transit passes for their employees
🚌 Seek PILOT payments or additional taxes from large employers and non-profits
🚌 Create a new position at PRT focused on language accessibility and disability access
Joe Rockey did not return answers to PPT’s #VoteTransit candidate questionnaire. Rockey also did not accept our invitation to join us for a transit ride along.
