“PGH City Council Can Take Action for Transit”, Says Riders’ Press Conference

image description: PPT Member Lorena Pena shares story at press conference outside Pittsburgh City Council Chambers. She is speaking with her hands and wearing a yellow transit advocacy button. She is surrounded by 20+ other PPT members holding yellow and red signs that say “Transit Moves Us” and “City Resident, Transit Rider.”. An ASL interpreter wearing a dark suit stands to her left.

Pittsburghers for Public Transit holds a packed press conference outside City Council Chambers to release a new report and invite PGH City Council to take a more active role in advocating for improved public transit.

On Wednesday, February 8th at 1 pm, Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) hosted a press conference to release our new report, “Representing Our Routes: The State of Public Transit and How the City of Pittsburgh Can Improve It”. At the press conference, researchers shared broad trends from the report around transit service reliability in the City and key transit destinations, and transit riders from different Council districts will give testimony about their experience using transit in this past year.

Lorena Pena, PPT Member who lives off the Red Line, shared her experience with what unreliable transit has meant for her:

While I enjoy taking public transit, it is not always easy. Last year when the Red Line train was not working, I struggled and my community struggled just to get around. We did not know when the shuttles were coming because they did not run on the same schedule as the train.

PPT members and the report identify ways in which City Councilmembers can support high-quality, reliable transit in their districts, and can enact policies laid out in the Pittsburgh 100 Day Transit Platform, now adopted into Mayor Gainey’s Transition Plan.

Watch the press conference that released “Representing Our Routes: The State of Public Transit and How the City Can Improve It”:

See photos of the press conference in our Flickr Album:

Check out the coverage from news outlets of the event: