The County’s new Allegheny Go program will enable half-price fares for 130,000 residents! Transit riders celebrate this announcement as a major step toward a more accessible transit system for all.
Whether you’re Black or white, whether you’re rich or poor, the price of transportation should never keep you from the food, healthcare, and the things your family needs to thrive. This belief has guided our organizing since February of 2020 when the Fair Fares Coalition first kicked off our campaign for more accessible transit fares at PRT.
On the afternoon of May 20th advocates from Pittsburghers for Public Transit, Just Harvest, the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council, and the Alliance for Police Accountability celebrated as we stood alongside Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, and leadership from the Department of Human Services and Pittsburgh Regional Transit to launch the Allegheny Go program, a brand-new program to enable more than 130,000 of our neighbors to access transit for half fare.
The program will enable all residents who currently receive SNAP/EBT benefits and their entire household to access half-priced transit fare on all Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses and trains.
This is an incredible milestone in our campaign for more affordable fares. Since our campaign kicked off more than 4 years ago our advocacy has encouraged thousands of transit riders, hundreds of volunteers, dozens of elected officials, and dozens of organizations to uplift the call for more affordable fares. We would not be here today if it was not for their organizing. You can check out fairfaresnow.com to learn more about the campaign’s history.
The Allegheny Go program goes live on June 3rd. We encourage all people who receive SNAP/EBT to learn more about Allegheny Go and apply when the application becomes available 6/3/24. Additionally, we encourage all people who were included in the County’s year-long discount fare pilot program to check their phones and emails, because invitations went out last week for them to join the trial phase ahead of the June 3rd launch.
PPT will be organizing this June to ensure the Allegheny Go program is a success. Sign up at the bottom of this blog to join us for a canvass or tabling event. We need to connect with riders and people on the SNAP/EBT program to spread the word about the program and enroll their families.
Learn more about the new income-based transit fare program, Allegheny Go, and get ready to sign up before June 3rd!
You can help PPT organize to make the Allegheny Go income-based transit fare program a success by signing up for to spread the work during our June organizing push!
Come out and talk to riders in June with PPT! Want to ensure the success of this campaign and show Allegheny County that we are more than ready for fair fares? We need your help to spread the word about the new discounted fares program to riders and urge them to enroll. Sign-up to volunteer and we will contact you about training and upcoming tabling events!
Read news stories about the Allegheny Go Income-Based Transit Fare program launch:
- “Half-price transit rides for SNAP households made permanent” published 5/20/23 by Matt Petras at Public Source
- “Allegheny County, PRT to offer income-based 50% discounts on transit fares” published 5/20/23 by Bob Mayo at WTAE
- “PRT launches program where SNAP beneficiaries get discounts on public transit fares” published by Sierra Rehm at WPXI
- “Allegheny County to fund half-fare program for low-income Pittsburgh Regional Transit riders” from Ed Blazina at the Pittsburgh Union Progress
- “Allegheny County makes half-off fares permanent for low-income transit riders” from Ryan Deto at TribLive
- “Low-income Allegheny County residents can ride public transit for half price starting in June” from Julia Frazier at WESA
- “Allegheny County officials unveil discounted ridership program for SNAP recipients” from Chris DeRose at KDKA
- “PRT launches program where SNAP beneficiaries get discounts on public transit fares” from Kim Lyons at the PA Capitol-Star