Join Us: BRT 61 Bus Celebration and the Riders’ Vision for Better Transit

On June 25th, PPT and Mon Valley Initiative will hold a Celebration and Launch of a Transit Riders’ Vision for how our region could build a more accessible, affordable, and equitable transit network that allows our communities not merely to survive, but thrive.

We will celebrate the restoration of the 59 bus to the Hilltop Parkview Apartments in Duquesne, and the important preservation of the frequency of the 61 A, B, &C bus lines and their direct access to downtown with Port Authority’s Bus Rapid Transit plan. Over the course of this past year, thousands of bus riders, bus drivers, elected officials and borough councils, religious and community organizations came together across the Mon Valley to ensure that the lifeline 61 and 71 buses would not face nearly 50% frequency cuts and mandatory transfers to go downtown, with no other alternatives to get there. After dozens of powerful testimonials in the Port Authority, URA, and County Council board rooms, hundreds of postcards and sign-on petition signatures were submitted, riders’ voices were heard! In addition, bus riders in the Hilltop Parkview Apartments in Duquesne will see the first 59 bus stop at their doorstep on June 17th, which will restore their critical connection to food, employment, healthcare and so many other vital needs. Residents submitted more than 150 letters to the Port Authority sharing their stories of their inability to access the grocery store less than a mile away, and the treacherous conditions they had to endure to walk to the nearest bus stop.

We celebrate that the Port Authority and regional elected leadership listened to the needs of our most vulnerable communities, and ensured that these bus riders would not see any additional barriers to their connections to life.

But these are only the first steps towards a vibrant, growing transit system that provides for better economic development, more equity for our most marginalized communities, and addresses pressing climate and air quality challenges.

At this event, Pittsburghers for Public Transit and Mon Valley Initiative will announce and lay out the Four Planks of The Riders’ Vision and ask our community leaders to join us in taking next steps for ambitious, proven and achievable measures to grow transit ridership in Allegheny County.

We hope that you can join us! There will be light food and refreshments, and childcare, transportation and deaf-interpretation services will also be available upon request. Please RSVP here by Thursday June 21st.