Limited access to fare cards forces some to pay more

where cash-paying customers are coming from, though Mr. Brandolph said the agency is working on implementing that technology.

He also added that many low-income areas saw a decrease in their fares when the Port Authority eliminated the “zones” in January of last year.

Prior to Jan. 1, 2017, the agency had two zones — Zone 1 was $2.50 and Zone 2 was $3.75 regardless of how riders paid. Zone 2 essentially was dropped, with a ride costing a flat $2.75 fare aor $2.50 with a ConnectCard.

Charging cash riders more is not unusual among transit agencies, said Angie Schmitt, an editor at Streetsblog USA, a website focused on walking, biking and public transit.

“Transit agencies in general should try to avoid charging lower-income folks more, but they may have good reasons for wanting to incentivize not using cash,” she said.

“There’s a tremendous advantage both for riders and for transit agencies to move folks from cash to cards,” said Hayley Richardson, spokeswoman for TransitCenter, a foundation dedicated to improving public transit.

It cuts the expense of counting cash for transit agencies and cuts down on boarding delays, she said.

Ms. Richardson said agencies should make the purchase of fare cards as easy and equitable as possible, however.

That’s an issue Mon Valley riders have complained about.

Bus rider Nicole Sled of Duquesne said ConnectCards are harder to purchase near her home.

Port Authority officials have said they have plans to add 12 additional ConnectCard machines this year, and point to several retail locations in the Mon Valley, such as a Goodwill in North Versailles; Giant Eagle stores in West Mifflin, McKeesport and White Oak; Save-a-Lot in Duquesne; the Shop’n Save in McKeesport; and Livingston Pharmacy in Clairton.

“We’re always looking for retail partners and constantly exploring ways to make riding, including adding products to a ConnectCard, easier and more accessible,” Port Authority’s Mr. Brandolph said.

Ms. Sled’s complaint that the system can be unfriendly to those who depend on it the most has been raised by both advocacy groups and Mon Valley elected officials.

Advocates at a Port Authority board meeting in January and an Allegheny County Council meeting earlier this month said they were concerned that low-income, transit-dependent Mon Valley riders will be hardest hit by cuts that could come about as part of a Bus Rapid Transit plan that would enhance service between Oakland and Downtown.

Pittsburghers for Public Transit and others have said they don’t want to see cuts to the 61 A, B or C routes and that any newly created transfers as a result of the BRT should be free. They also have called for more ConnectCard vendors in the Mon Valley to address gaps in access.

Officials have said the BRT is still being designed and will take about two years to build. They said services changes likely won’t begin until it opens.

The new Port Authority CEO, Katharine Eagan Kelleman, has told Mon Valley residents she will hold additional community meetings to hear their concerns about possible service reductions when the BRT begins.

“Residentsof the East End and Mon Valley are still highly dependent on cash. Many of them lack access to traditional banking. Right now, they are penalized for using cash in the Port Authority system,” noted a letter from Mon Valley Initiative board members to Port Authority officials in November, expressing concerns about the system’s proposed Bus Rapid Transit System and asking that they accelerate the rollout of locations that sell ConnectCards.

Duquesne Mayor Nickole Nesby, who has advocated for more locations in her community where ConnectCards can be purchased, says the time it takes for residents to get to the Mon Valley’s resources and other job centers can be a major hurdle.

Census data shows about 40 percent of Duquesne’s 5,500 residents are considered in poverty, compared with about 11 percent in Allegheny County as a whole. There is one financial institution in the city, a credit union.

“These [economically] distressed communities are paying more in cash to ride the bus,” Ms. Nesby said.

Source: Port Authority of Allegheny County