Boosting buses
Pittsburgh needs expanded mass transit
Mass transit matters to Pittsburgh and its suburbs. Port Authority’s ridership numbers — up from nearly 63 million on its buses, light-rail system, Monongahela Incline and paratransit in 2017 to 64.2 million last year — prove that much.
And if the area is to continue to grow and thrive, these services will have a role in driving the bus of prosperity.
People need mass transit to get to work, school, shopping, entertainment, even the library.
The Port Authority’s recent decision to extend bus service to Community College of Allegheny County’s North Campus and the Northland Library in McCandless beginning March 15 is good news.
It’s also overdue, given that it took more than five years of lobbying by North Hills residents, businesses and a coalition called Buses for Perry Highway that includes the community college and the library.
The college has urged bus service to its North Campus for the sake of those among its roughly 1,700 students who need the campus for multimedia, data analytics and virtual reality, programs not available on its other campuses.
A similar situation applies at the library which has mailed books to readers who couldn’t get to library.
Whether it’s a need of people who don’t own cars or a convenience that will help people rely on them less, improved mass transit helps the people of our region. It reduces traffic and related stresses, it cuts air-fouling emissions, and increases its users’ physical activity.
It’s also good public policy, according to the Federal Highway Administration, because it aids in the expansion of business development and work opportunities.
David Huffaker, the Port Authority’s chief development officer, said the agency is seeking creative ways to add service without hiring extra staff or buying more buses and is reviewing service requests from the past five years.
With some of the changes, he said, “we’re putting our toes in the water to see whether this will work.”
People in Pittsburgh and beyond who want mass transit should continue to make their voices heard. Port Authority, likewise, must continue to listen.