Image Description: A photo of a SPIN scooter laying on its side completely obstructing the sidewalk on the 10th Street Bridge. Photo credit Josh Crosbie
Dozens of residents call on Pittsburgh City Council to end the Spin E-Scooter pilot, and to improve resident mobility through sidewalk development, bus improvements and affordable housing instead.
On April 12, 2023, Pittsburgh City Council heard from the City’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI), representatives of Spin, and disability and transportation experts in a post-agenda hearing called by District 5 Councilmember Barb Warwick. After the post-agenda hearing more than 45 Pittsburgh residents gave public comments on the impact of the MovePGH Spin shared e-scooter pilot program. This was the first time since the 2-year Spin scooter pilot program started in July 2021 that the public has been given the opportunity to weigh in on the impact of the scooter deployment. It also came in the wake of a referendum in Paris where 89% of voters overwhelmingly elected to ban rental e-scooters from the French city.
In the public hearing, dozens of Pittsburgh residents asked why the City continues to privilege the mobility of the able-bodied, affluent, young, recreational travelers in Pittsburgh at the expense of those with limited or no access to mobility. Programs like MovePGH exacerbate existing transportation inequities, excluding by designlow-income people, people over 220 pounds, residents carrying cargo or dependents, older adults, youth under 18, people who are unbanked or without a smartphone, people with disabilities and residents living in the hills or valleys of our region. And while it’s true that no single transportation option needs to serve all constituencies, it is galling that the City invests the lion’s share of its time, staff resources and our shared and limited public space to serve those who can already access the most transportation options. Because of the prevalent problem of scooters parking on sidewalks, the pilot further narrows the access of those needing real mobility solutions.
The Mayor, DOMI and City Council should be acting on behalf of the community, not private companies, in service of our collective needs for clean air, for transportation, and for safe streets. The most troubling issue with this pilot is that the City has failed to measure or even identify goals that are distinct from the profit motives of the Spin scooter company. In Wednesday’s post-agenda hearing, Director of DOMI Kim Lucas’ assessment of the program was indistinguishable from that of the Spin scooter company representative—so much so that the two shared a PowerPoint presentation. DOMI lazily parrots the ridership numbers and demographic data that Spin collected through a survey of its users, arguing that diverse user data and ridership are proxies for mobility justice and environmental benefit.
In the public hearing, Abhishek Viswanahan testified, “As a researcher, I think it’s a bit ridiculous that you all have spent so much time discussing this survey which has several glaring issues of sampling and bias, most importantly that it leaves out the huge population of people who don’t use the scooters for various reasons.”
So what should actual success look like for the City, for this e-scooter pilot, and how would it be measured? What does failure look like, and what happens when the harms outweigh the good?
If the point of the scooters is to provide underserved populations with mobility options, then the City should start by assessing who in particular this form of transportation can serve and who it excludes. DOMI should be clear about which populations this technology can help and what problem it will fix, and then assess whether that’s working. We know that students—young people—traveling largely on weekday nights and on weekends in the key corridors of Oakland, Downtown and Lawrenceville are predominantly using the service to meet friends, dine out, or joyride. The Pittsburgh student population owns fewer cars, is lower income and more diverse than the city as a whole. So in order to actually understand the data of scooter usage, we should hear about what percentage of students are the same as the no-car household data that Spin is reporting, are the low-income households, and are the minority population using the scooters.
From the data, it seems that scooters are primarily used by students going out recreationally in transportation-rich corridors. We can also assume that tourists see this as a tool for sightseeing, as 20% of the Spin survey respondents were non-Pittsburghers. Are these the transportation problems we needed the City to solve? Should MovePGH be the City’s most-touted transportation initiative over the last several years?
Further evidence that e-scooters fail to address mobility needs in Pittsburgh is that Spin and the City couldn’t evengive away free access to the scooters to low-income people in Manchester for their “Universal Basic Mobility Pilot.” They were unable to find participants for the program until a year and a half into the projected start date, and even then were only able to secure participants because low-income residents were looking to access free bus passes through the program.
If the goal of this pilot is to reduce transportation emissions then the City should have rigorously assessed whether that goal is in fact met when twice as many lower-emissions trips of walking, biking and transit (67% of rides) are being replaced by scooters than car trips (which account for 33% of scooter rides). Researchers, including Dr. Daniel Reck who spoke during the e-scooter post-agenda hearing, have done an international literature review which found that shared e-scooter programs generate more emissions than the forms they replace: Spin scooters generate emissions because diesel vans are out placing and rebalancing them, and they are charged from electricity mostly generated by coal-fired power plants. A plethora of scooter trips doesn’t mean that scooters have just replaced car trips or even bus and walking trips—instead they have likely incentivized new, non-essential trips, which increase congestion, sidewalk hazards and emissions. This is a reasonable assumption given that 30% of riders reported taking trips for “recreation” or joy-riding. The Spin survey had other, separate categories for other non-essential trips of “meeting friends and family” and “dining out/shopping” (not to be confused with “essential errands,” which was another category). These non-essential trips accounted for 44.9% and 23% of Spin scooter survey rider responses respectively on common purposes for trips.
In other words, high use of the scooters, and ridership on the scooters without understanding the context, is not valuable data in itself. It could reflect good OR bad outcomes for the City and its residents. High scooter ridership is a goal that serves Spin itself by helping the company grow its revenue. It is also worth mentioning that in the public hearing, Spin said that they had yet to turn a profit from shared e-scooter trips in Pittsburgh, despite having a legal monopoly on public and private e-scooters, paying just $150 to the City for a permit to operate, and running over a million trips in less than 2 years. It is highly probable that, like the Pittsburgh autonomous vehicle companies, Scoobi mopeds, sidewalk delivery robots and Uber and Lyft, Spin will soon have to raise prices substantially or go bankrupt. In either case, why would Pittsburgh political leadership want to invest or rely on an unsustainable transportation service that runs on the fumes of venture capital and philanthropic donations?
Ultimately, the MovePGH initiative is another example of how DOMI starts with a private corporate product or a “transportation technology solution” and then seeks out a problem to address. This was true about the Mon-Oakland Connector shuttle between Oakland and Hazelwood, a 2022 proposal to run autonomous shuttles to seniors in an isolated high rise in Lincoln-Lemington, the sidewalk delivery robot pilot in Bloomfield, and now, e-scooters. When the transportation “solution” is shown to be a laughable, even harmful “remedy” to the problem it purports to solve, the City hosts a discussion on how to modify the product to make it less bad rather than turning its attention to actually addressing the real transportation barriers that our most vulnerable residents experience.
Inevitably, the transportation tech will go under, there will be amnesia about all the equity and environmental benefits of the products that DOMI shamelessly touted and the City moves on. Meanwhile, we still have residents in Hazelwood who need traffic calming, and seniors in Lemington who cannot get out of their housing complex, and the unmet mobility needs of everyone who are categorically excluded from using these Spin scooters due to their disability.
We need the City of Pittsburgh to commit to people, not products. The solutions to Pittsburgh’s mobility needs, environmental needs, and street safety needs are simple, but they are not sexy and they are not profit-driven. DOMI should implement the sidewalk development and maintenance, bus prioritization and affordable housing development policies that community members collaboratively developed in the Pittsburgh 100 Day Transit Platform, which were largely adopted by Mayor Gainey’s administration in its Transition Plan. Shifting to a people-driven approach would be real progress to celebrate.
“As a Blind person and a resident of Pittsburgh, I regularly encounter scooters that block safe passage in my neighborhood sidewalks. But scooters are not the only reason why my neighbors and I don’t have the transportation access we need—like many others, I can’t afford to live in the parts of Pittsburgh that have quality transit. That’s why the city should end this inaccessible private e-scooter program and focus instead on real policy and development solutions that serve those of us with the highest need for transportation,” says PPT member Gabriel McMorland (pronouns: she/her).
image description: graphic with a photo of the candidates who responded to PPT’s #VoteTransit candidate questionnaire superimposed over a PRT bus and a yellow/red background. Text reads “Transit Q&A with candidates for County Executive #VoteTransit on May 16th”
Transit riders must elect a #TransitChampion as our next County Executive! Primary Election is May 16th General Election is November 7th
The Allegheny County Executive is the most powerful person in Southwestern Pennsylvania when it comes to public transit – so it is vital for transit riders to elect a #TransitChampion into the position. The County Executive controls the majority of appointments to the Pittsburgh Regional Transit Board of Directors which control the transit agency’s $500+ million Operating Budget and $200+ million Capital Budget. Additionally, the County Executive controls board appointments and hundreds of millions of budget dollars at numerous County entities that directly impact the public transit system and its riders, such as the County Housing Authority, the County Department of Human Services, and the County Economic Development agency. Good people, robust budgets and progressive policy at all of these entities can transform transit in Allegheny County.
To ensure that transit riders are educated on where these candidates stand on public transit issues and what their vision is for our system, Pittsburghers for Public Transit issued a candidate questionnaire to all of the candidates running for our county’s top posiiton. Check out the answers that this candidate gave to our questionnaire below.
There’s big potential for having a #TransitChampion as the next County Executive, so transit riders are making some big demands. You can read the demands that riders are making for our next County Executive and sign-on to support below:
Candidate’s Answers to the #VoteTransit County Executive Candidate Questionnaire Traducción al español aquí
Answers are displayed below for the 5 candidates who returned responses to PPT’s #VoteTransit County Executive Candidate Questionnaire. Answers are displayed as candidates submitted them and have not been proofread for spelling or grammatical mistakes. PPT did not receive answers from Joe Rockey or Theresa Colaizzi.
The page is lengthy, so use these hyperlinks to navigate and see candidates’ answers to specific questions:
1. What is your vision for restoring and expanding transit service frequency, span and coverage in the County?
Dave Fawcett: Relative to bus and T service, I am in favor of just about anything that will increase ridership, especially among those who most need public transportation: members of marginalized communities; people without cars who need to get to work and job sites; and our elderly and disabled populations. I see cutting or eliminating fares for those under the median income level being critical to restoring ridership. I also see emphasizing creativity and evidenced-based solutions for increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of public transportation. Finally, we absolutely must address the issue of the ongoing shortage of operators…a deepening issue for PRT. I also see more rail and subway transportation as part of the vision for expanding transit service in Allegheny county. As a long time bus rider and passionate advocate for sustainability and equity, restoring and expanding transit service in Allegheny County is a pillar of my campaign and platform.
Sara Innamorato: Public transportation is a human right and a critical lifeline for many people in Allegheny County. At a time when we face multiple crises — disproportionately impacting low-income and Black residents, as well as people with disabilities — we should be expanding service. Secondarily, investment in public transit is a driver for local economies and can revive regional industries. Coming from the General Assembly, I understand the limitations of funding streams, but we should be thinking creatively about how to expand and improve transit, not cutting it. I have been a partner to Pittsburghers for Public Transit at the state level, and I will continue that partnership as County Executive. There are a few key steps I will take immediately and others that we will work together on in the medium and long term. 1) I will appoint at least one rider and one operator to the PRT board so that the experiences of those most impacted by service changes guide board actions; 2) I will put a moratorium on service reductions and cuts and open a community process to determine where service needs to be restored or added; 3) I will immediately begin a series of conversations with state and federal DOT officials and others to ensure PRT is accessing all available funding opportunities and is submitting competitive applications for funding; 4) I will seek sustainable new funding streams such as a local revenue stream funded via fees on ridesharing by advocating for enabling legislation at the state; 5) I will work with Mayor Gainey to help implement the 100 Days of Transit Platform recommendations that the County and PRT can assist with such as incentivizing municipalities to put in place pro-transit zoning reforms, using Allegheny County Economic Development to fund on-street transit improvements such as priority lanes and signaling, and others. These steps would go a long way towards improving and expanding service in my first year in office.
Michael Lamb: I believe that Allegheny County needs and deserves a world-class public transit system that keeps all of our communities connected, helps drive the engine of our economic development, and helps attract and retain workers and businesses as we continue to grow. My vision for our system, at its most basic level, is that everyone in Allegheny County should be able to reliably get anywhere they need to go in the county-–to work, to see a doctor, to get groceries, to visit friends and family-–in a reasonable time, with reasonable convenience, for a price they can afford. And I believe that the workers who keep that system running should be paid well and receive good benefits. That should be the goal, and as County Executive I will work towards making that goal a reality while prioritizing improved services and greater affordability for those members of our communities who are most in need and most reliant on public transportation.
William Parker: As County Executive my vision for restoring and expanding transit services is updating the bus schedules to real times, delays, and potential road closures.
John Weinstein: An accessible Allegheny County is how we grow Allegheny County. One of my greatest priorities has and always will be to grow this region to the greatest extent possible, and an important part of that is comprehensive transit coverage that enables our neighbors to readily access work, schools, stores, physicians, and all of life’s daily needs. Accomplishing that goal requires a proactive effort to seek out public input. We must engage at all local levels to determine what those local needs are in order to build plans that are not only efficient but also effective.
2. If you were the County Executive, would you commit to ensuring that the Department of Human Services discount fare program pilot becomes a permanent zero fare program for all SNAP/EBT households in Allegheny County? How would you ensure that DHS has sufficient resources to sustainably run the full program?
Dave Fawcett: Yes. As for sustainability of funding solutions, I would encourage and negotiate with employers and non-profits to supplement or fully pay for fares incurred by their students, patients and employees. Paying for public transportation as part of an employee’s compensation package is an idea that has been implemented in the past and should be implemented on a large scale. There are many other creative solutions for ensuring funding for such a needed and worthwhile program as the zero fare proposal for SNAP/EBT households.
Sara Innamorato: Absolutely. I am a huge supporter of this program and will immediately work with DHS and PRT to make it permanent and even expand eligibility. We need to restore ridership on PRT to obtain more federal funding. This program is one of the keys to doing that and would eventually pay for itself. I am committed to making the program both permanent and sustainable. One example is that by putting up just $4 million more in matching funds from county government every year, we could unlock an additional $30 million in funding for DHS from the state. This would more than cover the cost of an expanded, permanent program. We must great creative with the funding we pursue to sustain this vital program.
Michael Lamb: Yes, I would commit to working towards turning the discount fair pilot program into a zero fare program for all SNAP/EBT households in Allegheny County. DHS is almost half the budget of the 3 billion dollar budget of the county. There are enough funds as it stands, but we could be better using those funds. I’m confident that we can bring together all policymakers and stakeholders to find creative solutions to address our transit funding challenges while ensuring that the neediest members of our communities have full and free access to our public transit system.
William Parker: I would first like to review the data and conduct a survey before I commit to making a decision that will be permanent. However, I do believe the current pilot is a great program that gives us an opportunity to evaluate how attractive discounted fares can be to riders who take advantage of them to get to work, hospital appointments and the grocery store.
John Weinstein: I think this program is so important. It’s empowerment. It’s how we help to build people and families up. I want to help this community match its great potential, and means ensuring all have the ability to access their needs. Opportunities exist to utilize private-public partnerships to fund this program, to help people, and to make sure our residents can get to where they need to go. I look forward to the chance to build those bridges.
3. As County Executive, how will you ensure that developers in Allegheny County are building more affordable housing near great public transit?
Dave Fawcett: I would seek to encourage the passage of local zoning ordinance changes that would facilitate and in place require affordable housing. I would not tolerate economic incentives (such as TIFs) without requiring accompanying affordable housing. Finally, I would encourage PRT investment in better facilities and stops near actual and potential affordable housing sites.
Sara Innamorato: Incentivizing transit-oriented development is critical to rebuild ridership for PRT, meet our climate goals, create vibrant communities, and open up greater access for people who choose not to own a car or cannot afford one. I have worked with stakeholders to explore the ways in which the state can support transit-oriented development that includes mixed-income housing and amenities. I will double down on that strategy when I’m in office. I will also work with staff at PRT to re-prioritize TOD through their planning and real estate divisions. PRT could be doing much more to advance the issue, such as ground leases for development that require TOD and housing affordability. I will instruct Allegheny County Economic Development and other county entities that interact with developers to build TOD requirements into their funding guidelines and to host information sessions with all developers about how to do TOD well.
Michael Lamb: We need to think of public transit development as community development, because our public transit is truly a lifeline for many. I believe that transit-oriented development should be a cornerstone of our future economic development priorities in Allegheny County. As we continue to grow and attract a new generation of people who value high-quality public transportation options, I think it is in developers’ best interests-–and the public’s-–to increase transit-oriented development, and I fully support incentives and requirements to significantly increase affordable housing development as part of those efforts.
William Parker: As County Executive, I would work with developers and make sure there are guidelines in place before any contracts are approved.
John Weinstein: Public transit is an incredible resource for Pittsburgh, for Allegheny County, and for this entire region. It is imperative that we maximize its utility. That begins with talking with community leaders, neighbors, and developers and translating their feedback into a cohesive strategy that lead to thoughtful plans and tangible results. The trend of population loss locally is a problem, and while we have succeeded in many other ways, one we can clearly improve on in order to retain local and attract external talent is to regularly listen to those that rely on these systems and adapt as necessary. Rebuilding our infrastructure for better reliability, stabilizing routes, and accounting for usage all must be seriously evaluated, and done so quickly.
4. How will you ensure that transit riders have a meaningful voice and decision making power at the highest level of Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT)?
Dave Fawcett: I would be sure to appoint riders to the PRT Board. I would have public hearings and make inquiries. Most importantly, I would insist that PRT make changes in routes, facilities and programs as suggested by transit riders for the purpose and with the effect of increasing ridership.
Sara Innamorato: The first step is more riders and operators on the PRT board, which I will move on immediately. PRT also needs a much more robust public engagement strategy that provides more opportunity for constant feedback from riders and operators and actions to implement that feedback. Right now the organization feels very closed off to input from those most impacted by their decisions, which isn’t good for PRT and certainly isn’t good for riders and operators. I will work with PPT and others to set up regular meetings between PRT ridership and PPT membership as a starting point, and we can build better engagement systems together.
Michael Lamb: I really enjoyed the ride-along on the 61C and I myself use our buses frequently. I believe the County Executive should do regular ride-alongs to have a hands-on experience of our transit systems. I have always prioritized transparency, inclusiveness and accountability throughout my career, and will continue to do so as County Executive. I believe the people who use and rely on public transit every day-–as well as the workers who keep our transit system running every day-–are some of the best resources we have to understand where our system is succeeding, where we are failing, and where we need to improve. I will ensure that PRT leadership and leaders across county government have regular opportunities to hear from transit riders and workers so that their input can help inform the work we do and hold us accountable as we do it.
William Parker: I would invest in new technology and add rating features on the bus for transit riders to give real-time feedback from their everyday experiences.
John Weinstein: This is one of the most critical factors facing our public transit system. The reality is that many charged with developing plans do not utilize them on a regular basis, and so cannot wholly appreciate the existing situation. That is why we must emphasize the voices of local users, and why we must come to them. We need listening sessions that identify systemic problems and coverage gaps. The best voices to speak those concerns are those that use the system for their everyday needs, and I plan to go far and wide to hear those concerns.
5. What ideas do you have for increasing the amount of regional funding going to PRT?
Dave Fawcett: Seek partial funding from employers and non-profit organizations (see above); otherwise, the Drink Tax has been a good supplement to funding and I would be willing to explore other such creative solutions if the need arises.
Sara Innamorato: We need local funding streams, and I have a few ideas for how to make that happen. One is fees assessed on ridesharing rides that would go into a new fund to support public transit. We need state-enabling legislation to do this, and I have the relationships to get that done. We also need to look at our current local funding streams, such as the poured drink tax and RAD to ensure that those are being used to their fullest potential to support PRT’s most critical needs. I will also coordinate with Mayor Gainey on how to make sure the region’s largest corporations and massive non-profits are paying their fair share, either through taxes or PILOT agreements.
Michael Lamb: I think we have a lot of opportunities to leverage state and federal funding, along with greater contributions from corporations and our largest employers, to increase regional transit funding. It will be one of my priorities to pursue those opportunities as we look to make major transit infrastructure investments across the county. I would also welcome your input on any ideas or solutions to help expand PRT funding so we can address the challenges we face and build the world class transit system that we need and deserve in Allegheny County.
William Parker: I would partner with corporations, local businesses, and nonprofits throughout the region.
John Weinstein: One main driver is to continue identifying means to promote internal efficiencies so as to maximize the reach of operating revenues, such as expanding the fleet’s transition to electric buses. Additionally, I would call for an allocation increase from the Allegheny Regional Asset District.
6. As County Executive, how will you ensure that corporations and large employers in Allegheny County provide more funding for our transit system?
Dave Fawcett: See answer to #2 above. I think there is also potential for corporations, specifically tech-based ones, to make contributions to public transportation through consulting services to improve the digital functionality of our public transportation.
Sara Innamorato: One early opportunity is to fully implement a bulk pass discount program to get large employers to pre-pay for transit passes for their employees. This would provide new, sustainable, reliable revenue streams for PRT as well as help to rebuild ridership. I will also explore the feasibility of a Commuter Benefits Ordinance such as the one passed and deployed in Seattle. Additionally, as noted above, I will seek PILOT payments or additional taxes from large employers and non-profits to invest in PRT and support system expansion. Large employers need a strong, reliable public transit system, and they should be contributing more to it.
Michael Lamb: I have spent my career standing up to large corporations who try to cut corners when it comes to doing their fair share for our community. But as much as we need regulation and enforcement, the County Executive needs to have a strong relationship with our largest employers so that they can help the develop opportunities to further invest in the communities their employees work and live, starting with public transportation. I fully support requiring corporations and our largest employers to pay their fair share and contribute to our communities. Many of our largest employers would simply not have a workforce if it were not for the public transit system that their workers rely on every day. They stand to benefit from a high-quality transit system that helps attract and retain talent from across the country. so it is more than reasonable to expect corporations and large employers to more fully invest in our transit system. I am committed to ensuring that they do so.
William Parker: I would consider implementing a public mobility tax.
John Weinstein: As the County Treasurer for more than two decades, I’ve had the great fortune to develop relationships throughout this region and the country. We have companies looking to build right here, but they need the requisite infrastructure to attract employees. Accessible and efficient transit is one of the things topping that list. I can draw on those relationships to make sure that as we build back our infrastructure, public transportation is one of the top priorities.
7. As County Executive, how will you ensure that both language access and disability access are central considerations in all the programs and agencies that they are overseeing?
Dave Fawcett: I would insist on it. I would seek to appoint a member of the Board to represent the interests of the disability community and other minority populations.
Sara Innamorato: I helped form the Welcoming PA caucus in the General Assembly and have worked directly on these issues as a State Representative. Through our work, we had Democratic Caucus leadership dedicate resources for translation services for our district office and materials. We MUST have full language access for all public materials and systems, and we have the tools to do it; it just takes political will. Spanish-speaking and Mandarin-speaking immigrants are some of the fastest-growing populations in our region, and we must support them and other immigrants more fully. I will create a new position at PRT focused on language accessibility so that there is staff dedicated to working on getting this done. The same goes for disability access. We must prioritize universal design as the starting point for all new projects and invest in retrofitting existing stations, bus stops, shelters, and other infrastructure to comply with the principles of universal design.
Michael Lamb: I have always prioritized accessibility in all government services, and I believe that diversity is a tremendous asset as we continue to grow and develop in Allegheny County. I will work to ensure that no one in our communities is ever excluded from fully accessing any government service because of a disability, a language barrier, or any other reason, and I believe any investments we make to achieve that goal will more than pay for themselves.
William Parker: Train bus drivers to actively look for creative ways to engage with everyone, always be open for questions and concerns. Additionally, I will always consider both language barriers and disability barriers when making critical decisions around them.
John Weinstein: Every person deserves dignity. Whether you are a new neighbor in our community or require physical accommodations, you must be able to access vital public resources such as transit and many others. We’re a melting pot. We invite and welcome individuals of all backgrounds, which is a large part of what allows it to excel. Promoting inclusivity has been and always will be a staple of my role as a public official.
image description: cutouts of the faces of John Weinstein, Michael Lamb, Sara Innamorato, and David Fawcett are superimposed over a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus. The text reads “These candidates rode the bus with us”.
Recently, a number of the candidates for the office of Allegheny County Executive office took up Pittsburghers for Public Transit’s offer to ride a bus route and hear about the issues that transit riders experience daily. PPT invited every candidate for the county executive office to join in the bus ride-along. Four of them, Attorney David Fawcett, State Representative Sara Innamorato, Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb and Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein, were able to participate.
On their trips, they were able to speak with PPT members and partners, along with several people enrolled in the low-income fares pilot currently underway in the county. Each candidate was able to hear personal stories from different perspectives. The rides were long enough – an hour or more – to give PPT Organizer Cheryl Stephens time to touch on all the transit issues facing Pittsburgh riders.
This was a great opportunity for riders to connect with the candidates and for those candidates that participated to learn first-hand about the challenges our transit system faces. The incoming county executive, whoever he or she will be, will make the decisions, appoint the Pittsburgh Regional Transit board members, and set the policies that determine the future of public transportation here in Pittsburgh.
Candidates had the opportunity to respond to questions at the end of the ride.
Candidate David Fawcett and his aide, Ally Derubeis, met with PPT at the McCandless Park-and Ride.
Candidate David Fawcett (left) stands near a medal shelter at the McCandless Park and Ride stop on a cloudy Monday, and speaks with Sherai Richardson (center foreground) about low income fares pilot.
David spoke with PPT Member Sherai Richardson, who is participating in the reduced fare pilot program. Ms. Richardson outlined how this program has changed her day-to-day life – allowing her to save money, have far easier access to healthcare for herself and her family, see new opportunities and experiences available to her children, and enjoy significantly more independence. Sherai made a powerful case for having the program become permanent at the end of the pilot.
PRT operator Sue Scanlon (right) leans forward in her on the 12 McKnight bus discusses driver issues with David Fawcett listening in (middle).
Sue Scanlon, Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus operator and PPT Board Member spoke to David in detail about the worker shortage and scheduling issues affecting the transit system. Sue has a unique perspective on how these issues hamper drivers like herself and riders as they navigate the transit system. She made it clear that these concerns are among the most serious to faced by transit workers and riders alike that need to be addressed quickly.
David Fawcett (left), Cheryl Stephens (center), listen to Alisa Grishman (right) discuss the necessity public transit for disabled riders’ mobility and need for safer crossing, sidewalk, and bus stop infrastructure.
PPT Member Alisa Grishman, regular transit rider and head of Access Mob Pittsburgh, a disability rights organization, highlighted the shortcomings in infrastructure and service that limit the mobility of so many in Pittsburgh’s disability community.
End of ride wrap-up
PPT: “What was your impression of today’s ride-along?”
David Fawcett: “That’s a great experience…really informative, particularly the explanation of the importance of bus ridership for low income families. It’s a priority to increase ridership and users of the bus system. We really should be having free fares for people with lesser means…There’s many, many creative options that allow the funding for this sort of program.”
PPT: “Was there anything new that you learned on today’s ride?”
David Fawcett: “This experience reinvigorated me, increased my drive that I already had to improve public transportation…the critical need of public transportation and principally for people of lesser means and in communities where they might not simply need to get to town, but need to get to a job site or get to a doctor’s appointment.”
David Fawcett and intern Ally, standing at a bus shelter in Downtown, Pittsburgh and smiling with PPT Ride-along delegation. Alisa Grishman and Cheryl Stephens are holding signs from PPT saying “This Bus Is For All of Us!”
Candidate Rep. Sara Innamorato along with aide Olivia Settle met up with the delegation from Pittsburghers for Public Transit at the Lincoln Loop for the ride downtown.
Rep. Sara Innamorato (left) listens to transit rider Sherai Richardson (right) about low-income fare pilot program’s impact at the Lincoln-Loop bus stop in Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar.
Rep. Innamorato also had the opportunity to hear from Sherai Richardson about the life improvements she and her family have seen from the low-income fare pilot. Ms. Richardson underscored the importance of making the program permanent and how it would improve the lives of so many of her neighbors.
Ms. Verna Johnson (left) across from Rep. Innamorato (right) and conveys the reduction of service in her community.
Ms. Teaira Collins (center) discusses inequity infrastructure sidewalks, location of shelters, and consequences of disinvestment in transit dependent neighborhoods, while Cheryl Stephens (right) takes notes.
PPT members and long-time transit riders Ms. Verna Johnson and Ms. Teaira Collins were both able to give their perspectives on how the transit system has changed. Ms. Johnson, who lives in Larimer, described how transit functions as a lifeline to her entire community.
PRT Supervising Instructor Sasha Craig speaks across the bus with the group on the demands placed PRT frontline workforce, including scheduling constraints and need for hiring.
Transit Supervising Instructor Sasha Craig filled Rep. Innamorato in on the difficulties and limitations presented by the worker shortage as well as how drivers are stretched to the limit by scheduling.
End of ride wrap-up
PPT: “What was your impression of today’s ride-along?”
Rep. Sara Innamorato: “You really see the difference from neighborhood to neighborhood in terms of availability of shelters, quality of sidewalks…We need to make sure that we’re investing in this really great public asset…That’s not only an economic development tool, but it is a lifeline for people. This is a valuable resource we need to prioritize investing in.”
PPT: “Was there anything new that you learned on today’s ride?”
Rep. Sara Innamorato: “I really appreciated hearing directly from one of the bus drivers on how to get more people into the workforce. The next county executive [needs to work] creatively on how they can partner.”
Rep. Sara Innamorato (right), smiling with Ms. Teaira Collins (center), and Community Organizer Cheryl Stephens left) following the PPT ride-along in Downtown, Pittsburgh.
Candidate Michael Lamb met part of the PPT delegation at the McKeesport transportation center. The other members were delayed when ripple effects from an accident on the parkway east snarled traffic throughout the east end. We met the 61C en route at one of the more dangerous bus stops in the county. A lesson about our car-centric transportation system in itself.
Ms. Teaira Collins (right) converses with Michael Lamb (leaning in on the left) on the 61C on how many people rely of transit in the Mon Valley, including her family members.
Ms. Teaira Collins and Ms. Clara Weibel, riders and PPT members, gave Mr. Lamb a thorough understanding of how bus service has declined over the years in that area. Ms. Teaira also demonstrated the strong community nature of transit when she greeted so many friends who happened to be on that bus.
The bus operator who was part of the PPT delegation was able to inform Candidate Lamb about the difficulties in addressing the driver shortage.
Candidate Lamb on crowded 61C
As the bus rode through Homestead, which has the largest percentage of transit dependent riders in the state of PA, Candidate Lamb got to see how the bus filled to overcrowding.
End of ride wrap-up:
PPT: “What was your impression of today’s ride-along?”
Michael Lamb: “We saw today bus overcrowding…through all these river towns from McKeesport all the way up to Oakland and the critical need that it (transit) serves. Also just the discussion we had around infrastructure, around access and even just basic sidewalks. I think was a great conversation.”
PPT: “Was there anything new that you learned on today’s ride?”
Michael Lamb: “Obviously we knew there was a manpower need. What I didn’t realize was the lack of communication and marketing around hiring…getting out there and recruiting new drivers, new operators, new employees”
County Executive candidate John Weinstein arrives at McKeesport Transportation Center
Candidate John Weinstein along with his aide, Amanda Horn, met with the group from PPT at the McKeesport Transportation Center.
John Weinstein (center) introduces himself to Antonia Guzman (center foreground) as Laura Chu Wiens (right) translates their conversation on fare affordability.
The candidate had an opportunity to hear from rider Antonia Guzman about the positive effects the low-income fares pilot has had in the life of her and her daughter. She was also able to make candidate aware of the multi-language translation shortcomings in the transit system has.
John Weinstein (right) with Sasha Craig (left) seating on the bus discussing bus operator recruitment
Operator Instructor Supervisor, Sasha Craig, made the case for better worker recruitment to address the driver shortage.
John Weinstein with Ms. Teaira Collins
Ms. Teaira Collins, long-time rider and PPT member, gave Mr. Weinstein the benefit of her multi-decade experience with public transportation in that specific area.
End of ride wrap-up:
PPT: “What was your impression of today’s ride-along?”
John Weinstein: “This was a fantastic experience. I’m 100% committed to our infrastructure and public transit. It takes understanding the plight of people and being able to help them. Everyone should be safe first and foremost. The bus stop should be safe. The sidewalks, the infrastructure.
PPT: “Was there anything new that you learned on today’s ride?”
John Weinstein: “I learned about the main lines and how accessible they need to be for people. We need more drivers. We need more maintenance people. We need more people to take care of the bus shelters and the sidewalks and the infrastructure. This was a very enlightening opportunity”
John Weinstein smiling with PPT Ride-along delegation in front of a CONNECTCard machine at the Atwood bus stop in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh
image description: graphic that has text that reads “City of Pittsburgh Public Hearing on SPIN Scooters & Mobility Needs”, overlaid on a photo of a SPIN scooter laying across a sidewalk.
The City of Pittsburgh is holding a Public Hearing about the SPIN scooter program and whether they are (or are not) meeting residents’ mobility needs.
Since the summer of 2021, Pittsburghers have had to learn to navigate the city’s public spaces with a new neighbor on our roads, on our sidewalks, and in our public spaces: the unmistakably orange SPIN scooters. The SPIN scooters were released as part of a 2-year pilot program to test whether they could increase affordable, equitable, and environmentally-friendly access for residents of Pittsburgh. The pilot is set to expire this June, so the time is right to have a public evaluation of whether the program accomplished its goals.
On April 12th, City Councilor Barb Warwick scheduled two public meetings for the public to weigh in on this process. A post-agenda meeting will be held at 1:30pm in City Council Chambers with representatives from the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, SPIN, and other researchers to discuss the program. Afterward, at 2:30, residents will be invited to give their public comments on their experiences with the program and whether scooters have improved mobility for them and their neighbors.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit is inviting all residents to join us for this public meeting, either in person or virtually, and give public comments about your experience with the scooters if you are able. If you need a ride to the public hearing, or if you have questions about writing your public comment or if you have any accessibility needs, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org or 551-206-3320.
The hearing will be held Wednesday, April 12th at 2:30 in City Council Chambers, 414 Grant Ave. RSVP below to attend and/or give public comment (and PPT staff will sign you up to join. Or you can sign up directly here):
PPT is inviting all of the candidates running for Allegheny County Executive for a ride-along with transit riders and workers.
The Allegheny County Executive is the most powerful person in Southwestern PA when it comes to public transit. So it is CRITICAL that this person understands what it’s like to ride the bus and be a champion for public transit.
To ensure these candidates begin to understand the importance of public transit, PPT has invited every candidate running for Allegheny County Executive to join us for a ride-along with transit riders and transit workers (we’ll see which candidates accept the invite). During these ride-alongs we’re going to spend two hours with them on the bus speaking about the transit challenges and opportunities that we see for our system. We are also going to walk them through the list of demands that riders are making for our next ACE.
Each candidate has also received PPT’s Transit Justice Questionnaire that they need to return to us by the beginning of April. We’ll be releasing the candidates’ answers to these questionnaires and recapping what they said on the ridealongs at PPT’s April Monthly Meeting.
We want to bring your questions and stories along with us. Take a minute to share and we’ll make sure your messages make it along to all the candidates running to be the next Allegheny County Executive
Image Description: Photo of 5 PRT transit workers wearing their uniforms standing shoulder to shoulder in Ross Garage. Some are wearing orange safety vests. Photo was taken by PPT Board Member Sue.
Without transit workers, we have no transit system. Our transit system is short 220+ workers and our scheduled service is in decline. This Transit Worker Appreciation Day, join PPT in calling on our next Allegheny County Executive to build better public transit by addressing the worker crisis.
On Saturday, March 18th, we celebrate National Transit Worker Appreciation Day. While we at Pittsburghers for Public Transit love and support our Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) operators and maintenance workers every day, we know that the workforce is right now in crisis, and want to take this opportunity to lift up worker voices and ensure that politicians are hearing their demands.
Support the demands that transit workers are making and send a tweet to tell County Executive candidates to build better public transit by addressing the worker crisis.
PRT needs to take care of the workers they have and hire more
Without transit workers, we have no transit system. Right now, Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) is short more than 220 transit operators, and 40-60 maintenance workers. That’s why riders have been seeing service cuts every few months, with no end in sight; we’ve already lost 10% of the total scheduled service that we had before the pandemic, and with the wave of retirements coming this year and next, these cuts will be irreversible. At this point, PRT cannot even train workers quickly enough to replace the number of workers leaving each month. We need PRT to make a plan and make it fast, becasue this downward trend is only getting worse without one.
President and Business Agent Ross Nicotero of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 85 just published an excellent opinion piece in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review laying out the worker hiring and retention crisis and how our County Executive and PRT can take action to fix it.
Several weeks ago, Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) launched a public input process to overhaul the downtown bus network. This is the first portion of a system-wide transit network redesign, to ostensibly make our bus routes faster, more understandable and more effective in serving our riders’ needs. As transit workers, we’re certainly supportive of adjusting our routes to keep buses from getting stuck for ages in car traffic and to ensure that riders can reliably and quickly get to their destinations.
But it is difficult to talk about how PRT’s bus network redesign will improve the rider experience without talking about the catastrophic service cuts we’re simultaneously experiencing due to ongoing worker shortfalls and PRT’s implementation of its vaccine mandate. At this moment, the network redesign feels a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
[…]
We are losing workers to jobs that offer more flexibility and higher pay. At the same time, the job has become more difficult. Operator assaults have increased, rigid scheduling requirements make it difficult for junior operators with child or elder care responsibilities, and a lack of access to restrooms on route and break rooms at depots exacts a health toll.
Here are five key ways that PRT can address these challenges head on:
• Rehire the 80-plus experienced employees that were terminated due to the vaccine mandate. These skilled workers can promptly address more than a third of the employee shortfall gap, and policies like mask mandates and regular covid testing for unvaccinated workers can address safety concerns.
• Narrow or close the wage progression/salary scale. New front-line workers begin at a $15-$18/hour training wage, and need to work for four years before reaching operator and maintenance worker regular rates.
• Incentivize good attendance with bonuses and reward employees for their courageous service through the pandemic with hazard pay. Bus operators and maintenance workers worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic. They should be compensated accordingly so we can retain our dedicated workforce.
• Work with local universities, high school and labor to expand training and apprenticeship. This can improve job pipelines and get students interested in and prepared to work for PRT.
• Ensure bathrooms with proper route scheduling are available to ensure the dignity of bus operators. Pandemic-related business closures and longer work days created new challenges to ensuring that bathrooms are available to bus operators. Resources need to be deployed to ensure they have adequate time and appropriate break facilities during their runs.
PRT needs to fix the schedules to benefit transit workers and riders
We also know that poor route scheduling by management at PRT has created huge problems for riders and transit workers alike. This past month, we published a report entitled Representing our Routes, looking at the impacts of poor scheduling on on-time performance for routes that run through the City of Pittsburgh; of the 105 routes in the whole PRT system, 38 routes experienced service reliability of 50% or less for a month or more in 2022. Unreliable and unrealistic scheduling of routes has been catastrophic for riders, resulting in missed appointments, lost jobs, and impacts to rider access to schools and childcare.
video description: video and interviews by PPT member Dean Mougianis. The video contains generic scenes of bus operators navigating city streets and assisting passengers. The audio is cut from interviews with transit operators about how PRT’s unrealistic scheduling has affected their work.
But poor route scheduling also affects transit operators, who are unfairly targeted by riders frustrated by the late or ghost buses, and PRT operators often feel pressured into skipping lunch and bathroom breaks because their buses are chronically 20 minutes or more behind schedule. This has led to extremely low morale among workers, and high attrition rates.
One transit operator said that he was planning to return to ICU nursing, a career he had left several years ago, because he believed that the hospital was less stressful than driving a bus.
Support the demands that transit workers are making and send a tweet to tell County Executive candidates to build better public transit by addressing the worker crisis.
Image Description: PPT Members Tiffany, Bonnie and Gabriel smile for a photo at the year-end membership party.
Did you get into the new discount fare pilot program? We want to hear from you so we can advocate for a permanent, fully-free program for all.
More affordable transit fares are coming to Allegheny County because transit took action – but now we need to continue our advocacy to make this a permanent program accessible for all! Late last year, the Allegheny County Department of Human Services launched the new Discount Fares Pilot Program for SNAP/EBT recipients. The pilot program will test how free and discounted transit fares impact the ability of families to access food, jobs, housing, education, healthcare and all of life’s essentials. More than 14,000 people are involved in the study!
The program is exciting, but there are still some bugs with the website and the application. Pittsburghers for Public Transit is using this form to keep track of any problems or feedback that people have with the program, the website, or the application. We also want to use this form to hear your story about how free and discounted fares is impacting your life, and whether you think this should be a permanent program accessible to all. We’ll share this feedback with the Department of Human Services, but you should also reach out to Allegheny-Discounted-Fares@alleghenycounty.us
This free and discounted fare program is big news and only happens after years of advocacy from transit riders and allied organizations. But this program will end at the end of the year – WE NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU SO WE CAN PUSH TO MAKE IT PERMANENT!
If you have applied to the program, or if you know anyone else who has, please fill out this form. Tell your story and let us know how we can advocate to improve the program.
image description: photo credit Pittsburgh Union Progress. Two maps of downtown with outlines for the two new proposed routing scenarios. Looks like a very complicated mess of colored lines. People should check out PRT’s website for accessible versions of this info: https://nextransit.network/downtown
Wait, what’s going on? PRT is proposing big changes to downtown bus routes, and you have until March 26th to give your feedback.
Bus routes are undergoing a serious overhaul. Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) is proposing to redesign how buses move through Downtown Pittsburgh. This is a big deal and one that all transit riders should evaluate and give feedback on! The proposed “bus network redesign” will likely have a big impact on, among other issues:
where the buses stop and pick up passengers, which may change how close your destination is to where your bus drops you off.
how quickly buses are able to move through Downtown streets– for instance, buses could drive in more parts of Downtown but run the risk of being stuck behind car traffic, or drive primarily through a few dedicated bus-only lanes but cover less of Downtown.
how easy it is to transfer between different buslines. This bus redesign will likely change how close routes are to each other that riders use for transferring, and also the timing of those transfers.
how safe the streets and sidewalks are where transit routes are stopping, and how comfortable the bus stops are for transit riders. The network redesign might prioritize stops that have better amenities like shelters, benches and real-time arrival information, or choose to space out stops so that passenger overcrowding at the stops or on particular buses is less of an issue.
Some of these changes will yield other surprising benefits – for instance, buses taking fewer turns in a dense urban area leads to fewer collisions. And buses that drive on fewer streets downtown will move through their routes and schedules faster and more reliably, which can create labor and cost savings that could allow for more bus service. But there are trade-offs around access and walking times that riders should consider.
PRT’s Public Process Schedule and Opportunities – Give feedback before March 26th
You can help PRT decide how to prioritize their decision-making (faster buses, or buses that go more places Downtown?), and look at how your particular bus route might change under different proposals.
Unfortunately, PRT announced a very quick public meeting schedule with very little lead time. So there aren’t any more opportunities to join live info sessions. However, you can give input through their online portal until March 26th, and review how the two top-line scenarios would impact your particular bus route. You can then select a preferred route network and give comments about concerns or opportunities that you see from this process. They also have a lot of maps and other visual information with background about how downtown works for transit on their website.
image description: square image of a sign that riders posted on a blue light post at Hamnett Station which has been altered to say “P3 Service Continued!!! Route OPEN! Pittsburgh Regional Transit proposed maintaining P3 stops at Hamnett, Roslyn, and Swissvale”.
When we fight, we win! Riders spoke up, organized, and were successful in maintaining (and expanding the span of) service on the P3!
Riders celebrated victory this week when it was announced that the new BRT plan would maintain P3 service to Hamnett, Roslyn and Swissvale stations on the East Busway!
The beginning of 2023 saw a flurry of organizing as the public comment period for the proposed BRT Service Plan came to a close. The proposed plan would have terminated the P3 at Wilkinsburg Station and eliminated the fastest, direct connection to jobs, schools and resources in Oakland to anyone that caught the bus from Hamnett, Roslyn or Swissvale Stations.
“For myself and many other care workers who work demanding schedules and have to leave the house very early and come home very late, asking us to take two buses is both not equitable and also not very realistic,” said PPT Member Amalia Tonsor while speaking to the Pitt News
Other riders agreed. Before long, riders made their own flyers and posted them at the East Busway stops that were to be eliminated. Flyers had information about the changes that included web links, QR codes, and information about how riders could submit their own public comments. Riders organized canvass days where they went out and spoke to their peers at stops to spread the word about the changes.
Image Descriptions: photos of the signs that riders had posted at the stations where P3 service was proposed to be cut. They’re various sizes and colors (white, red) and taped to different services at the stations (light posts, signs)
But riders didn’t stop there! By the middle of January, almost all local media outlets were covering the story. A big shout out to PPT Members Amalia, Pearl and Nicole for speaking up and using the airwaves to spread the word about the changes and how people could make their voices heard. They were able to get their story out to 6 different news outlets – TV, print, online, and radio – reaching tens of thousands of riders and residents throughout our region.
All of this organizing worked. After the comment period closed, PRT reported that they received over 700 comments through their process – 542 of which spoke up against the proposed changes to the P3! By the time the February 16th PRT Board Planning and Stakeholders Committee came around, the head of PRT’s Planning reported that they would hold-off on the changes until they had more data on how the changes would impact service in the system.
Great job to everyone who took the time to share about the importance of how transit impacts and benefits our communities! We have the right to shape our transit system so that it serves us best.
We applaud PRT for listening to what riders have to say, and want to give credit (and a some feedback) where it’s due.
We have to give credit to PRT for creating a robust public process around this particular proposal. They put a ton of information and justification for why they were making specific proposals on their website – this was great. PRT started the public process with an info session where they gave an overview of the changes being proposed, then followed up with in-person and virtual public meetings for people to give feedback. They had their public comment period open for a full month and a half, from December 15th to Feb 1st. And thumbs up for allowing people to give comments by calling Customer Service AND for setting up a voicemail where people could just call and leave a recording of their comment.
As far as feedback: We wish that there was a centralized place on PRT’s website where riders could see all public meetings and all opportunities to give public comment on a single page. Currently, only PRT Board-related meetings are on the “Public Meetings” page (and PRT Board meetings are notoriously inaccessible and unresponsive spaces for riders to engage in constructive feedback). It was confusing to find the BRT project from the PRT homepage, and to navigate between the sites with information about the project and proposed service changes, the website that took service-related feedback, and the sites that shared the BRT public meeting schedule and registration. Frankly, it continues to be confusing to find info on other major projects as well. Members of the public have to navigate through NEXTransit on the project page to find info about some major projects, like the Downtown Network Redesign, but others like the BRT are curiously omitted. We appreciate that there was more than a month to give feedback on the BRT service changes, but hope that PRT would consider the impact of major holiday periods on the likelihood of robust public engagement.
All that said, we want to thank PRT for listening to riders. The agency could have gotten all that feedback and still ignored it but they didn’t. We are are offering this constructive feedback because we know that more transparency from PRT yields more engagement and the education of riders, which also increases rider input and trust in our public transit system. Pittsburgh Regional Transit belongs to the system’s riders and workers who use it everyday, so let’s continue to ensure that they are empowered to shape it.
image description: PPT Member Lorena Pena shares story at press conference outside Pittsburgh City Council Chambers. She is speaking with her hands and wearing a yellow transit advocacy button. She is surrounded by 20+ other PPT members holding yellow and red signs that say “Transit Moves Us” and “City Resident, Transit Rider.”. An ASL interpreter wearing a dark suit stands to her left.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit holds a packed press conference outside City Council Chambers to release a new report and invite PGH City Council to take a more active role in advocating for improved public transit.
On Wednesday, February 8th at 1 pm, Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) hosted a press conference to release our new report, “Representing Our Routes: The State of Public Transit and How the City of Pittsburgh Can Improve It”. At the press conference, researchers shared broad trends from the report around transit service reliability in the City and key transit destinations, and transit riders from different Council districts will give testimony about their experience using transit in this past year.
Lorena Pena, PPT Member who lives off the Red Line, shared her experience with what unreliable transit has meant for her:
While I enjoy taking public transit, it is not always easy. Last year when the Red Line train was not working, I struggled and my community struggled just to get around. We did not know when the shuttles were coming because they did not run on the same schedule as the train.
