TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 9:30 A.M.
A press conference called by Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) for Tuesday, January 22 at 9:30am a.m. will draw together representatives of Pittsburgh City Council, the Allegheny County Labor Council, Americans for Transit, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85, the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network and others to announce a multi-faceted campaign to save and expand public transit in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
PPT and its partners note that the funding from Harrisburg last year was a temporary fix. That money is scheduled to run out in August 2013. The clock is ticking! Without dedicated transit funding, in September we will again be facing severe cuts to service, which will deeply damage our region’s communities and economies. They also charge that Governor Corbett’s lift of a cap on the gas tax provides no long-term solution – and some of the “privateers” appointed to his Advisory Council on Privatization and Innovation stand to make substantial profits at the public expense through proposals for privatizing transportation infrastructure.
PPT spokesperson Molly Nichols will provide information on the launch of a statewide campaign, as well as local organizing efforts, to defend and expand our public transit system. Andrew Austin, Executive-Director of the national Americans for Public Transit, will outline a projected statewide mobilization for public transit. Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak will speak on the importance of critical transportation investments in the South Pittsburgh neighborhoods she represents. Dave Vinski will be speaking on behalf of the Allegheny Country Labor Council.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit invite our neighbors to work together to advocate for these rights:
Transit Bill of Rights
Members of our community need public mass transit for basic mobility and access to work, school, hospitals, shopping areas, recreational facilities, polling places, places of worship and family and friends. Public mass transit is a vital part of any healthy metropolitan area. It is essential infrastructure – just like roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and utilities – that is crucial to the economic, social, and environmental wellbeing of our region.
We have a right to a public mass transit system that includes:
- Safe, reliable, environmentally-sustainable, adn affordable transit that is accessible to all
- Living wages, benefits, safe working conditions, and union rights for transit workers
- Dedicated and sustainable funding for public transit
- Equitable distribution of transit costs with corporations paying their fair share
- Transit that meets the needs of each community with no communities left out
For more information, call Community Organizer, Helen Gerhardt – 412-518-7387