This. Is. Our. Moment. The time for #FairFares is NOW
Over 60 attendees gathered today under the mural of Martin Luther King at the Wilkinsburg Busway Station to launch the new #FairFares Coalition & Policy Platform. The platform is the culmination of years of advocacy and efforts by thousands of riders– canvassing, signing petitions, mailing postcards, rallying, testifying for fare equity and decriminalization of fare enforcement.
Speakers from Pittsburghers for Public Transit, the Alliance for Police Accountability, Casa San Jose, and Just Harvest shared why the time is NOW for equitable improvements along four platform planks: fare cost, fare payment process, fare enforcement, and fare incentives.
As the Port Authority begins their neighborhood outreach meetings, riders are demanding that their fare consultant hear, loud and clear, that planning a fare increase is an unacceptable outcome. That the #FairFares policies, like having fare equity and civilian fare enforcement policies and fare incentives, are not only desirable, but necessary to create the just, sustainable, and thriving region that we all deserve.
PPT needs to thank ALL OF THE RIDERS & TRANSIT OPERATORS who came out to back this monumental statement. As well as the coalition partners – Just Harvest, Casa San Jose, the Alliance for Police Accountability, the Thomas Merton Center – and County Council members Bethany Hallam, Liv Bennett, and Anita Pritzio. It is with this leadership and commitment that we can transform our system so that all residents can have dignity, equity and the freedom to move. Si se puede!
YOU can use your voice to support this vision for #FairFairs – read the full platform here & sign below to endorse
News Coverage from the #FairFares press conference
- “Coalition seeks fairer Port Authority fares at Wilkinsburg rally” from Ed Blazina at the Post Gazette
- “Advocacy groups call for transit fare changes and eventual elimination of fares in Allegheny County” from Ryan Deto at the PGH City Paper
- “As Port Authority Reviews Fares, Advocates Call For Free Transfers And Eventual Fare-Less System” from Kathleen J. Davis at WESA
- “Dozens gather at street corner to demand fair bus fares from Port Authority” from Mike Holden at WPXI
