Latest Posts
PGH Residents Makes it Known, They Need To Be Part of the City’s Driverless Tech Conversation
On Thursday, July 18th, more than 70 residents from Hazelwood, the Run, Panther Hollow, and the surrounding communities made it known: the public wants to be included in the City’s decisions about driverless vehicle technology on their public streets with their public money. The high turnout at PPT’s first forum on driverless vehicle technology shows […]
“Wait, Who’s Driving This Thing?” PPT’s New Lit Review & Position Paper On Driverless Vehicles
In the three years since driverless vehicles have been tested in real-life on Pittsburgh streets, the City has not hosted a single opportunity for residents to learn more about the technology’s impacts or decide if unproven AV solutions are worthy of public investment. Yet, the City of Pittsburgh has moved forward with earmarking millions of […]
Bringing the Public to the Autonomous Vehicle Table
Pittsburghers deserve a public conversation about driverless vehicles in our city. Pittsburghers for Public Transit believes that residents are long-overdue for a public conversation about the autonomous vehicles that have been roaming our streets for the last three years. There are now five different companies testing their technology in our neighborhoods and millions of tax-payer […]
Organizing Fellows Lead Beyond the East Busway Outreach
PPT is ecstatic to announce that the 1st cohort of Beyond the East Busway Fellows has been trained and is currently leading campaign outreach in the Mon Valley and eastern suburbs. These 8 talented organizers all have deep connections to these communities. They personally understand the importance of transit and are ready to build a […]
Media Roundup: Beyond the East Busway
Pittsburgh media was eager to cover the release of PPT’s new Beyond the East Busway participatory transit planning tool. Within hours, 5 local outlets had covered the release and dozens of people had completed the tool. We’re encouraged to have this coverage. This grassroots participation is what we need to drive transit expansion in our […]
Beyond the East Busway Tool is Live!
On Wednesday, June 25th, Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) launched a grassroots planning tool for transit riders and residents to envision better public transit for the Mon Valley and Eastern Suburbs. This innovative transit mapping tool, entitled Beyond the East Busway, emerges from the belief that those most impacted by planning decisions are best-suited to […]
Meet the 12 outstanding activists who are running for PPT's Coordinating Committee. Check out the blog, and RSVP to tomorrow's meeting to hear from them directly.
[PPT Members - voting is open until Friday!]
www.pittsburghforpublictransit.org/ppts-2020-elections-for-coordinating-committee-seats/
PPT's 2020 Elections for Coordinating Committee Seats - Pittsburghers for Public Transit
www.pittsburghforpublictransit.org
Overview Pittsburghers for Public Transit is a grassroots, democratic, member-led organization that fights for racial justice and public transit as a human right. Each July, the organization holds e..."We already know that there's an issue right now with bus overcrowding and pass-ups on certain routes, particularly routes that are going through Black and Brown communities, lower income communities...[Port Authority] needs to modify their schedules to accommodate the people that are currently riding," Wiens said.
"We've been pushing them the last several months to re-allocate service to where the ridership still remains robust and move it away from where the routes that are currently not seeing very many riders, because that is likely to continue in this fashion through the duration of the pandemic."
www.wtae.com/article/port-authority-pandemic-related-driver-shortage-behind-some-missed-trips/330...
Port Authority pandemic-related driver shortage behind some missed trips
www.wtae.com
"Obviously, this has huge impact on riders if the buses they anticipate coming don't show up," Laura Chu Wiens, executive director of Pittsburghers For Public Transit, told Pittsburgh's Action News 4.This is the kind of leadership we like to see 👏🙌:
"Public transportation is an essential public good, but for too long we have not funded it like one. That’s why we are calling on Congress to pass our Freedom to Move Act, bold federal legislation to incentivize transit agencies to offer fare-free service and make long-overdue investments in public transportation for low-income and historically marginalized communities."
Thank you to US Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Senator Ed Markey and Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu for leading the effort to ensure expanded transit service that prioritizes under-invested communities, and free transit for all riders!
www.masslive.com/opinion/2020/07/freedom-to-move-act-would-increase-mobility-connect-communities-...
www.masslive.com
Instituting fare-free transit is a commonsense solution to some of the most pressing challenges our region faces.How to make mask-wearing easy and protect riders and workers? Transit agencies in Oregon and California have started giving out masks directly to riders. transitcenter.org/making-mask-wearing-on-board-the-easy-choice/
Making Mask-Wearing on Board the Easy Choice
transitcenter.org
Universal mask-wearing on transit will be fundamental to managing COVID-19's spread. Portland’s TriMet and San Francisco’s BART provide an early look at how agencies are managing this shift.Shoutout to PAAC for new data transparency! This tool can help riders who have the flexibility in their schedules - although not everyone does. We still need to look at shifting some service to assist those who keep getting passed up on crowded routes: ow.ly/zTdx50AhSTd
New Port Authority tool will give riders even more information about full buses, crowded routes
ow.ly
Port Authority hopes the Room2Ride page on its website will help riders plan trips to avoid crowded buses that could pass without stopping.