Pittsburghers for Public Transit

Image Description: PPT members highlighted in yellow, on a glowy background of a bus stop on a summer day.

Bust out those cell phones and lace up those sneakers! 

Transit riders in Pittsburgh want more bus shelters, better bus stop amenities and connected sidewalks that take us to and from where we need to go! Our biggest takeaway from two years of bus shelter audits is that we cannot have bus shelters, benches and other amenities installed at our bus stops if our sidewalks are in poor or nonexistent condition. 

Following the lead of our friends Pittsburgh Walks, PPT will host a series of sidewalk audits this spring and summer focusing on neighborhoods with high rider bus stops and busy transit corridors. 

We will assess the quality of sidewalks in Pittsburgh and record findings via a mobile survey developed by the City of Pittsburgh. The collected data helps the City identify where sidewalks need to be improved or built, prioritize pedestrian infrastructure projects, and make the case for sidewalk funding. 

The goal of these sidewalk audits is for participants to learn how to use this new tool and go on to gather data independently. Ultimately we aim to collect information about sidewalks (or where they’re missing) for every street in the City. This is a group effort and WE NEED YOU!

Audit Dates & Registration:

Saturday May 16th 10am – 12pm, Sheraden
Saturday June 27th 10am-12pm, Hazelwood
Saturday August 22nd 10am -12pm, Hill District 

What to Expect:

• Before the event, participants must watch this 15 minute video.

During the event, we’ll:

• Have a lesson on what makes sidewalks safe and accessible, how to use the web application.
• Pair up to walk several blocks of neighborhood streets, and record our observations using an online survey on our cell phones.

Requirements:

• Must have charged cell phone that can reach the internet and take photos.
• Must be able to navigate web browsers and privacy settings on cell phone.
• Pittsburgh weather can be unpredictable this time of year! Come dressed for the elements (good walking shoes, winter coats, hats, gloves, etc.). We will be outside for about an hour. 

Accessibility:

• We cannot guarantee the accessibility or safety of these walks as some of the terrain may have broken to no sidewalks. Some regions may be hilly and harder to walk on.
• Blind and low vision people will not be able to use the mobile survey application, but your input is of great value. You will be paired with a sighted person so that you can access the survey.
• If you have individual accessibility questions, or to request ASL interpretation, please reach out to Nicole@pittsburghforpublictransit.org.
  • ASL interpretation must be requested at least 2 weeks in advance.

You can attend on your own, or bring a group of neighbors, friends, family, or coworkers! This is a great way to get your steps in, meet fellow community members, and help make our streets safe, accessible, and enjoyable for everyone!

The post Sidewalk summer is back: hit the streets with PPT for sidewalk audits appeared first on Pittsburghers for Public Transit.

Image Description: Group photo at spring training has 100 people holding up signs and smiling with fists up.

Transit for All means every community – urban and rural, large and small – and thats who the movement is fighting for!

150 transit riders and transit workers from across Pennsylvania and the United States gathered at the end of March to build organizing skill and strengthen community.

The movement keeps on growing! For two days at the end of March, 150 transit riders and transit workers gathered in Pittsburgh for the third-annual Transit for All Organizing Spring Training. Attendees and speakers came from all across PA and the United States. Their purpose was clear: they were there to build organizing skills to strengthen a movement that’s fighting for transit for all – whether in rural communities, small towns or big cities.

The training was organized by Pittsburghers for Public Transit, who leads the Transit for All PA! campaign. The program was jam-packed with opportunities for attendees to learn new skills, learn from victories won in other cities, and meet inspiring new friends from other communities!

Read on for a recap of the two-days or check out photos here!

Day 1 Recap: Welcome to Pittsburgh & the Transit Justice Movement image description: County Executive Sara Innamorato addreses transit riders and transit workers at the 2026 Transit for All Organizing Spring Training Welcoming Happy Hour

On Friday, attendees from out of town met at the PPT office for a Transit Tour led by PPT Members. The Transit Tour ended at the Welcome Happy Hour hosted at Aslin Brewery in the Strip District.

More than 100 people were in attendance for delicious food and drinks. Some people were new to transit organizing but many were veteran organisers for better public transit. Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato even stopped by to welcome people to town and encourage advocates to keep organizing for better transit access!

Day 2 Recap: Training Day!

Image Description: Four panelists sit behind a table. One is speaking dynamically and moving their hands as the others smile and laugh. A sign language interpreter is translating in the background.

Day 2 was where the magic happened. Folks woke up bright and early to join for an 8am breakfast and some artmaking with Arts Excurions Unlimited, a community arts group from Pittsburgh’s Hazlewood neighborhood.

By 9am the plenary kicked off, led by Veronica Coptis, Senior Advisor, Taproot Earth. She began the day by driving home a theme that would be central to the training: that rural and urban communities must work together to change a system that moves us all. Veronica leads a number of rural organizing projects and shared that regardless of the community she’s working in, transportation is always a top need. Veronica was joined by Andrew Slack, a PA-based facilitator who led a panel discussion with Kearasten Jordan and Laura Pauls-Thomas, both Transit for All PA! Organizing Fellows from Lancaster, about transit needs in PA’s rural communities and small towns.

image description: Alisa Grishmand and Dr. Jose Badger present on a Transit for All Organizing Spring Training panel

After the Plenary discussion, the energy didn’t stop. There were 7 workshops throughout the day, led by PPT Members and transit organizing experts from PA and across the US:

• Narrative Change: Our Stories Build the World We Want, led by Nadia Awad, Content Director, Narrative Initiative, Andrew Slack, PA-based narrative strategist, facilitator, and storyteller, and Clair Hopper, Digital Organizer, Pittsburghers for Public Transit and Transit for All PA!
  
• VoteTransit: Bus Mayor Elections and Beyond, led by Betsy Plum, Executive Director of Riders Alliance (New York City), Barb Warwick, Pittsburgh City Council member, District 5, and facilitated by Laura Chu Wiens, Executive Director of Pittsburghers for Public Transit/Transit for All PA!
  
• Mobile Workshop! Field Communications: Storytelling from the Street, led by Joe Conniff, Video Editor, Educator, and Producer, withremote support from Marcelese Cooper, Teaching Assistant Professor in the Film and Media Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh
  
• Bargaining for the Common Good: Worker/Community Solidarity, led by Connor Chapman, University of Pittsburgh Graduate Workers Union and Pittsburghers for Public Transit and Ronni Getz, UPMC Magee Women’s Hospital, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania

• Organizing with Disability Justice at the Center, led by Anna Zivarts, a leading author, transit rider organizer and founder of the Nondriver Alliance out of Washington state, and Dr. Josie Badger, director of the national RSA-Parent Training, Information, technical assistance center (RAISE), and founder of several orgs including the Pennsylvania Youth Leadership Network (PYLN), the Children’s Hospital Advocacy Network for Guidance and Empowerment (CHANGE), and J.Badger Consulting, moderated by Alisa Grishman, founder of Access Mob Pittsburgh and PPT Board member

image description: Two attendees from Transit Riders United in Detroit socialize talk together

• Big Tech in Transit: Automation, Microtransit, Surveillance, and Data, led Dr. Sarah Fox, Assistant Professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University; Director, Tech Solidarity Lab, Sue Scanlon, Transit Operator, Pittsburgh Regional Transit; Pittsburghers for Public Transit board member, and Ziggy Edwards, Leader, Mon-Oakland Connector Campaign
  
• Transit Isn’t Just Urban: Organizing in Small Systems & Everywhere, led by Connor Descheemaker (they/them), Statewide Campaign Manager, Transit for All PA!/Pittsburghers for Public Transit, andT4APA! Organizing Fellows Angela Adler and Laura Pauls-Thomas (Lancaster), Benjamin Felker-Quinn and Andria Ahrens (Lehigh Valley)

You can learn more about all of these great workshops and speakers on the 2026 Transit for All Organizing Spring Training homepage! And you can access the slides from each of these presentations at this Google Folder – feel free to share them, just please credit the presenters on each panel.

Attendees took a break from that great lineup and enjoyed some delicious lunch, snacks, and event took time out for a Movement Moment: Grounding, Accessible Yoga Practice led by PPT Member Mona Meszar, who is a yoga instructor, massage therapist, and community activist!

Spring Training was a blast! And now with these new skills and connections, transit riders and workers are ready to grow this movement.

Missed the training or want to get involved? Join us at the next transit organizing meeting to join the community! Join the next meeting here! image description: 7 organizers from Philadelphia pose with signs at the 2026 Transit for All Organizing Spring Training

The post Transit Riders & Workers Skill Up at Organizing Spring Training appeared first on Pittsburghers for Public Transit.

The Bus Line Refresh could be the biggest service change in a generation. Your chance to make it better is right now! Learn how the proposals could impact you—and tell PRT how you feel about it. 

Explore the service changes that affect you

There are many ways to explore the changes PRT is proposing under the Bus Line Refresh. You can: 

• Review an interactive map of the proposed system changes (works best on a computer or tablet)
• Find your frequented routes from a list of affected routes, then click on their new names to learn about how they might change
• Model your frequent journeys on the Transit App on your mobile device (check out our tutorial below)
• Attend a public meeting with PRT (we’re hosting one on April 8th!)

After you do any of these options, it’s critical that you submit a public comment telling PRT how these changes would affect you. They need to know your thoughts in order to incorporate them into the proposal!

Join the April 8th meeting to learn more about transit changes How to model your journeys on the Transit App

Note that this method requires access to a mobile device, like a smartphone. If you don’t have access to one, we recommend using the other tools listed above to explore the proposed Bus Line Refresh. 

1. Download the Transit App to your mobile device. The app is available on both iPhone and Android. (Bonus: the app can be used to plan your future transit trips, and can even give you notifications when service changes or advocacy opportunities are available!) 
2. You may need to make an account to use the app. 
3. In the app’s main screen, type a destination in the “Where to?” bar. Select it from the list of results when it appears.
4. Once you’ve selected your destination, you can also edit your starting location—for example, you might want to understand how your commute from your workplace to your doctor’s office might change.
5. In the white portion of the screen, you’ll see a selection of potential routes you could take to reach your destination.
   The trips at the top are those you could take under the current PRT system.
   If you scroll down below these, you’ll see a section titled “PRT Preview Mode”, with potential future routes listed. 
6. Click on a future route you’d like to explore. The app will then show you a map of the route, with details on how long the trip would take you, as well as scheduled frequencies and stops. 
7. At the bottom of this window, there is a banner with a button titled “Give feedback”. This will take you to PRT’s feedback page for the entire Bus Line Refresh project. 
8. When you’re done exploring this route, be sure to press the red “X” button at the top right of the screen to exit preview mode. 

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Don’t miss your chance to shape the bus network

If you or someone you know takes transit frequently, PRT needs to know your thoughts. There are a lot of ways to give feedback on the proposed Bus Line Refresh: 

• Find your routes from an online list, click their new names, and leave route-specific feedback
• Send an email to PRT with your comments
• Call PRT at 412-442-2000
• Fill out a paper survey at home or at your nearest Carnegie Library location
  • También puedes descargar una encuesta en papel en español!
• Attend a public meeting with PRT

And of course, the best way (because it comes with community):

• Join our next monthly meeting on April 8th to hear PRT present, and give them your feedback in person

Join the April 8th meeting to learn more about transit changes

The post Explore How the Bus Line Refresh Could Affect Your Commute appeared first on Pittsburghers for Public Transit.