There’s a lot that City and municipal leaders can do to improve access to public transit – from sidewalks, to bus shelters, to land use and employee policy.

May 22nd is Election Day for the Democrats and Republicans to choose their candidate to run for Mayor in the November General Elections. Use this page to learn about how the City of Pittsburgh Mayor can influence transit and get familiar with the candidate’s transit plans in the leadup to Election Day.

Take the #VoteTransit pledge to say you’ll vote to elevate champions for transit to elected office.

Whether you’re a citizen at the ballot box or an elected official on the chamber floor, take the #VoteTransit pledge to say that transit is an issue that moves you.

Use these resources to learn about the candidates, their positions on public transit, and the powers that their office has to improve our transit access.

When we organize together, we can hold elected officials accountable and win transit that serves all our communities’ needs.

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Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) Calls on Pittsburgh Mayoral and City Council Candidates to Adopt PPT’s 25/25/25 Goals and Develop a Plan for Implementation 

The Transit 25/25/25 Demand around sidewalks, bus shelters, and affordable, higher-density housing by our best transit assets are continuations of the equitable infrastructure campaign work that members of Pittsburghers for Public Transit have been leading for the last several years. 

Pittsburgh’s lack of connected, accessible and maintained sidewalks often creates access and safety barriers to transit for disabled riders and families. Improving the conditions of our sidewalks was named as one of the top priorities for residents during the transition planning process for Mayor Gainey’s administration in 2021.

Pittsburgh is also nationally notable for how few bus shelters are installed at bus stops, which forces riders to be exposed to the elements and make them less visible and less safe while waiting for the bus. The responsibility for bus shelters falls exclusively on the City of Pittsburgh within its jurisdiction, not on Pittsburgh Regional Transit, and there is a backlog of over 230 stops within the City that have ridership high enough to justify a shelter that are currently unprotected.

Finally, the Pittsburgh affordable housing crisis has displaced thousands of residents far from the City into County municipalities with low access to jobs, critical amenities, and transit. This affordable housing crisis has particularly affected Black and brown families and transit riders; it is imperative that our City has a holistic policy and funding solution to ensure that more low-income riders can live by the transportation assets that they rely on.

Pittsburghers for Public Transit has long elevated the role of the Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh City Council leaders in improving – or impeding – access to quality transit. 

In 2021 PPT published the Pittsburgh 100 Day Transit Platform in collaboration with dozens of residents and organizations that have strong insights into what is needed to ensure Pittsburgh’s transportation network is effective, safe, and accessible to all. This platform laid out four broad mobility goals for the City, and several specific policy demands to achieve a more effective, equitable mobility network that works for all residents. 

In 2022, we followed up with our Representing our Routes report, which laid out the quality and reliability of transit service, the demographics of ridership, and the number of bus shelters in each City Council district. In this report, we also detailed the direct and advocacy roles that Pittsburgh City Council members can and must play in improving transit service and infrastructure.

Finally, in 2024 we organized and won the first City budget line item for transit amenities, ensuring that there were resources to begin to close the gaps on the 230+ bus stops that have ridership that is high enough to warrant a shelter, but in which no shelter has been installed. It is long overdue for the City to put attention and resources towards this need, and there must be a process to continue and grow this work.

What power do the City of Pittsburgh’s elected leaders have to improve public transit access?

The Mayor can improve transit access through their power to shape;

• Policies around Land Use, Zoning, and Affordable Housing Development
• Infrastructure Projects like sidewalks, bus shelters, and bus lanes
• City Department staffing and employee policy
• City Budgets

World-class cities like Pittsburgh should strive for excellence, provide better opportunities for citizens, and afford residents the freedom to improve their lives. Affordable, accessible, quality public transit is central to achieving these goals.

Although many believe that transit is exclusively within the purview of the Pittsburgh Regional Transit, and is governed solely by our county and state legislators, the power of local governments to bring big improvements for transit riders should not be underestimated. Elevating public transit requires that Pittsburgh elected officials invest in sidewalks, bus shelters, and safe street infrastructure like crosswalks and curb cuts, and that we plan for development that supports more affordable housing and critical amenities by quality transit.

Mass transit provides freedom of movement to those with the least amount of access. Recent Census numbers tell us that 23% of Pittsburgh households do not have access to a private vehicle. They also show that 50,000 Pittsburghers – more than 17% of our City’s population – use public transit to commute to work every day. Add students, the unemployed, and other noncommuters, and the actual number of transit riders is much higher. 

The City of Pittsburgh and the Mayor’s office are responsible for many of the critical land use policies, infrastructure investments, and staffing decisions that can make public transit safe and effective. This is done in part through the City’s zoning and planning laws, which set the rules for how our City is developed. For instance, zoning rules define whether low-income residents can find affordable housing by great transit assets like the East Busway and the T, and high-frequency routes like the 16, 51, 61s, 86, 87, 71s, 91, and more.

The City is also responsible for the built environment and sidewalk infrastructure that allows all transit riders, regardless of self-mobility concerns, to safely and comfortably get to and from bus stops. From bus shelters to street lighting, ADA-compliant sidewalks, curb cuts, and crosswalks, the ability to access transit is almost entirely dependent on decisions made by our City. Decisions to paint bus-only lanes and to install traffic signals that turn green for buses ensure that transit is reliable and timely, and ensure that we are prioritizing 40-passenger vehicles over single cars on our roads.

The Mayor also proposes operating budgets and appoints Department heads to manage City staff time that can ensure the prioritization and implementation of these types of transit infrastructure improvements.

Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) calls on Pittsburgh Mayoral and City Council Candidates to adopt PPT’s 25/25/25 Goals and develop a plan for implementation

We can’t #VoteTransit unless we’re registered to vote! >> Register to vote, check your status, or request a mail-in ballot here

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