Latest Posts
PPT Joins National Alliances in calls for Covid-19 Transit Expansion & Protections
Efforts are needed on all fronts if we are to overcome these times of crisis. Since the beginning of March, PPT has joined a number of national alliances to call on our federal legislators to expand resources for public transit, worker protections, affordable housing, healthcare and more. Read some of these letters below and make […]
100+ Transit Riders+Workers Join for 1st PA Statewide Call
🚌 Philly ✊ Harrisburg ✊ Pittsburgh 🚌 Riders and workers are ready to organize More than 100 transit riders and workers from across Pennsylvania came together to bridge the social/physical distance and begin to organize for public transit that moves us past Covid-19. Led by the Philly Transit Riders Union and Pittsburghers for Public Transit, […]
PA Statewide Transit Riders Meeting re Covid-19
PPT & the Philly Transit Riders Union are holding the first-ever statewide transit riders call to organize around our Covid-19 response The Covid-19 outbreak has shown that public transit is indeed the lifeblood of our cities and state – moving frontline workers and riders to life’s essentials; jobs, food, healthcare, and more. If our state […]
Still on public transit during Covid-19? Take this survey to share experience & call for improvements
Public transit is the lifeblood of our communities, bringing thousands of riders to essential needs every day. Even during this coronavirus outbreak, Public transit is vital for getting people to essential jobs and businesses. If you are still riding public transit, we want to hear from you. What are you seeing? What buses are full, […]
News Roundup: New PPT Report Gets to the Heart of the Mon-Oakland Connector
Reporters say that the Mon-Oakland Connector costs just don’t add up. On Friday, April 10th, Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) and data analysts at Tech4Society released a new report entitled The People’s Audit of the Mon-Oakland Connector, to evaluate the City’s proposed Mon-Oakland Connector shuttle roadway against resident proposals for expanded public transit services. The […]
New Report Shows Public Transit is More Effective than Mon-Oakland Shuttle Roadway
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 10, 2020 // Pittsburgh, PA Media Contact: Laura Chu Wiens, Executive Director of Pittsburghers for Public Transit: (703) 424-0854 New Report Shows Public Transit is More Effective than Mon-Oakland Shuttle Roadway On Friday, April 10th, Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) and data analysts at Tech4Society released a new report entitled The […]
"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.“The devastation that has resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic is both social and economic. Those hardest hit are our low-income neighbors, whose financial precarity is exacerbated by the crisis.” said Bethany Hallam, Allegheny Councty Council Member, At-large: ow.ly/s5By50AhJfs
Officials seek low-income fares for Port Authority transit riders
ow.ly
City, county and state legislators in the Pittsburgh region published a letter on Tuesday calling for the implementation of emergency low-income fares...