Author: TransitGeek1

Again, there’s a really interesting conversation about transit going on over at Nullspace: http://nullspace2.blogspot.com/2008/09/transit-tuesday-metrics-to-be-proud-of.html

Chris B. deconstructs some of the “facts” touted in a recent Forbes.com report and P-G article about Pittsburgh being in the top 5 commuter-friendly regions.

He points out that the figures that put us in the top 5 are ridership numbers from BEFORE LAST YEAR’S BUS CUTS.

Where once we were ranked pretty high in transit usage, the only question at the moment is how far we have fallen. Will have to wait for some more data for answer that for sure, but that was the cost we will pay for the route cuts last year.

Some highlights from the comments—

• Downtown business scribe, Ken Zapinski,  asserts that increasing ridership and serving populations who don’t have cars shouldn’t (necessarily) be  goals of public transit.

Underlying your premise is that more ridership is the appropriate goal for the Port Authority (or any transit agency.) All things being equal, the more passengers, the better. But all things are never equal.

Thanks for finally putting it out there Ken!

• Blogger Ed Heath wonders what the “public” part of public transit is supposed to mean.

• Chris argues that prioritizing the commuter market over the transit-is-their-primary-transportation population will lead to even more residential segregation in our region.  And he reminds us how segregated we already are:

http://www.briem.com/gis/AA_county.pdf

Please feel free to join the conversation here or there.  Just please, join the conversation!

In the Post-Gazette today, attorney Joseph Pass responds directly to Ken Zapinski of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development’s management-slanted editorial from labor day weekend.

Don’t punish transit workers

Perhaps local corporations should make ‘concessions’

I read with interest the rantings of Ken Zapinski of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development titled, “A Time for Concessions” (Forum, Aug. 31). For four decades, I have proudly served as the attorney for Local 85 of the Amalgamated Transit Union and I negotiated and arbitrated the two most recent contracts between the Chicago Transit Authority and the unions to which Mr. Zapinski alluded in his article. Let’s get the facts straight….. (read entire article)

Mr. Pass confirmed some ideas that were being suggested elsewhere on the internets in recent days. (see: nullspace transit 1 ; nullspace transit 2 ; bram 1 .

I’m so happy to finally hear some analysis of the situation from the workers’ side.  The messages that have dominated the public discourse around the Port Authority budget so far have been so obviously engineered by the Port Authority board and executives (and the corporate and political leaders who put them there.)  I just can’t believe that it’s either the full story or that their positions are in the best interest of my community and my family.

As a city resident who supports a strong, better!, public transit system, I’m deeply suspicious of any proposal to save transit that will end up hurting the families of all of the unionized Port Authority workers.   I’ve been suspicious that there’s been a whole other side to the story than what we’re getting on PAT’s websites: pghtransitinfo.com and portauthority.org (PR which we, taxpayers, are footing the bill for).  Messages pernicously mimicked in and around all things Allegheny Conference for Comm. Development.  http://www.alleghenyconference.org  and nocommuterleftbehind.wordpress.com/

More commentary later from me, for now I’ll just agree with Mr. Pass when he writes:

In the meantime, if the Allegheny Conference is interested in the development of this community, it ought to seek ways to fund transit other than on the backs of workers. Since public transit is vital to the economic growth of this community, as recognized most recently by the fact finder appointed to analyze Port Authority contract issues, perhaps the conference should urge local corporations to buy bus passes for their employees. Better yet, when corporate America and/or its CEOs make exorbitant profits or wages, perhaps we could tax them to subsidize transit. Their backs are bigger and better able to sustain “concessions” than those of the working men and women who provide transit service to our community.

The burghosphere’s favorite [transit] wonk, Chris Briem has a great post today on Nullspace with some very interesting analysis about the numbers that the Port Authority persistently puts out about its drivers’ wages.

Check it out: http://nullspace2.blogspot.com/

Also– from Save Our Transit:

We will be picketing the Port Authority as well as Dan Onorato in the up and coming weeks asking them to STOP DIGGING IN THEIR HEELS when it comes to union contract negotiations-stop trying to tear apart our public transit system! STOP threatening our dedicated funding!

SO COME JOIN US! It would be great to have LOTS of other public transit riders AND supporters in this endeavor!

We just can’t sit and watch our transit system continue to be BEAT UP by our local politicians (Dan Onorato) and their respective thugs (steve bland)!

Here’s where we’ll be next week:

PORT AUTHORITY

WHEN? Monday, August 25, 2008
TIME: 12 noon till 1:00 PM
PLACE? Port Authority (6th and Smithfield st. Downtown)

DAN ONORATO

WHEN? Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
TIME? 12 noon till 1:00PM
PLACE? Allegheny Count Courthouse (436 Grant St., Downtown-outside!)

PORT AUTHORITY

WHEN? Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
TIME? 12 noon till 1:00 PM
PLACE? Port Authority (6th and Smithfield St., Downtown)

**WE WILL HAVE SOME SIGNS ALREADY MADE! WE HOPE ALL OF YINZ CAN MAKE IT!!

**IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL Amanda at zeidersamanda@gmail.

Residents of Allegheny County can no longer take our public transit system for granted. Over the last several years, bus-riders have had to learn to live with ever-increasing fares and ever-decreasing service. Neither our state legislature nor our county government (both bodies of government have fiscal responsibility to fund transit) have shown the political will to make sure that Allegheny County and the city of Pittsburgh continue to have a strong public transit system.

I’ve started this discussion here on Progress Pittsburgh because I’ve found no public discussion about transit that seeks to incorporate all sides of the debate.  It’s quite easy to find the Port Authority or the Allegheny Conference for Community Development’s positions on transit (suprisingly similar).

What’s lacking in the public discourse (at least right now, on the internet) are the positions of regular bus riders, advocates for public transit and organized labor.

It is my hope that all voices– but especially those of folks who rely on public transit for their very livelihoods– will participate in this online discussion.

Bus rider activists, Save Our Transit have, for years, diligently fought for all of the transit-using public both in Harrisburg and in Allegheny County.

Check out their video from early in 2007: http://media.indypgh.org/uploads/2007/01/saveourtransit2.mp4