Transit Justice is Environmental Justice – Join the Rally!

image description: a collage of tweets from the Port Authority Alerts Twitter account that announce out-of-service buses. Some tweets have been altered to include testimonials from riders about what these service outages mean for them. They say “Transit has all but stopped on his line this month. He feels isolated and alone.”, “Late bus again means his boss tells him not to come to work. He loses yet another day of pay.”, “Out of service this afternoon, means her son misses another day of after-school activities w his friends”, and “Bus canceled. She can’t explain how disruptive this is to her schooling.”

Transportation emissions are now the largest contributor to climate change in the United States. There is no managing or reversing the climate crisis without getting more people on transit. 

As we approach Earth Day, however, public transit is the worse its been since the start of the pandemic, and Port Authority is cutting back service April 24th with the likelihood of further cuts in June. Poor transit service is more than an inconvenience. It is a threat to our jobs, our air quality, our climate, and our future.

Join the rally on April 22nd, 1-2pm, to demand more transit, not less.

From rider testimonials:

  • Because of late buses, his boss has told him not to bother coming to work, and he has missed days of pay.
  • Out-of-service trains means her son can’t get home from school in time to join afterschool activities with his friends. 
  • True time transit apps have had her standing in the rain for hours, waiting for buses that never come.

This downward spiral of transit service is devastating for individuals and families all throughout Allegheny County, and it needs to stop. We need more transit, not less.

For the lives of the people riding transit, for the future of our climate and planet, we need the Port Authority to reverse this trend of declining service quality.

Join PPT and riders from across the county at this Earth Day rally to call on the Port Authority to restore and improve transit service. If you have been affected by the recent spat of transit outages, share your story here to advocate for change. If you need a ride or the rally, or if you have any questions or accessibility needs, please reach out to PPT at info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org.org or 412-626-7353.