Image Description: Orange and yellow illustration of a bus decked out in flags and starbursts, with radial stripes and dots behind it. To its right is black text reading, "The Future of Transit Justice: PPT's 2026 Strategic Plan".

Maybe you've heard about our recent wins, like protecting service at the Waterfront or securing the first major client for PRT's new PRTner pass.

Maybe you're fired up about the challenges facing transit in our region, like the looming state budget crisis or persistent scheduling/service issues.

Or maybe you want to help shape a community that is building transit justice in Allegheny County, and having fun doing it! 

In any case—we want YOU to help us create our 2026 Strategic Plan by coming to our next monthly meeting on Wednesday, October 8th!

This meeting will be HYBRID—you're welcome to join virtually via Zoom, or in-person at our office on 4836 Ellsworth. 

We'll get updates on our recent campaigns, and spend the majority of the meeting reviewing and suggesting changes to our draft Strategic Plan for 2026. 

Providing input on the Strategic Plan is a special privilege of PPT members and community, so we hope you'll join us! We literally couldn't build our plan for the next year without your input as experts on our system and the challenges it faces. 

Please RSVP to join us—your voice is critical!

(If you can't join us, please give us your ideas on what we should be working on in 2026 using this form!)

Image Description: A grainy photo of a bus stop at the Waterfront shopping center, with a transit rider sitting on a red bench surrounded by shopping carts. Black text highlighted in yellow reads "ACTION ALERT: Bus stops removed at the Waterfront".

You may have heard about the Waterfront shopping center's recent move to remove bus stops in front of Target and Giant Eagle—two of the most-used stops in PRT's system.

You may have also heard that after 1,400 people signed our petition, Waterfront owners reached an agreement with County Executive Sara Innamorato to retain service within the area. In other words: when we organize, we win! The Waterfront is a major hub of employment, groceries, and basic services for thousands of people in Homestead and across Allegheny County. We sent a clear message that transit riders matter, and that we won't tolerate harm.

The catch: we don't yet know any of the particulars around the agreement, so we need to keep the pressure up, ensuring that Waterfront owners don't back out.

Here's how you can help: 

Image Description: a group photo of transit, disability, and senior advocates with Pittsburgh City Councilmembers in council chambers. They hold signs reading "Week Without Driving Pittsburgh", "Transit for All PA!", and a large proclamation bearing the City of Pittsburgh seal.

On Sept 30th, Mayor Ed Gainey announced his proposed 2026 budget for the City of Pittsburgh, in which he has included funding for the purchase of transit passes of all downtown City employees through Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s PRTner pass.

This is a huge deal, enabling hundreds of municipal workers to be given free transit passes as an employment benefit, and making the City of Pittsburgh a leader in modeling the benefits of the program for other regional employers and institutions. Mayor Ed Gainey and City Councilwoman Barb Warwick deserve major kudos for their tireless efforts in advocating for this program!

Send a letter to your City Councilmember to show your support for this program and to ensure that this benefit is preserved and solidified in this year’s budget vote in December, 2025!

Image Description: black text with a yellow highlight reads "Bus Stop Summer", next to a collaged graphic with a bus stop sign (edited to read "Audit") and red starbursts.

In 2024, we won a major victory: the first-ever allocation of funds for bus stop amenities in the City of Pittsburgh's capital budget. Ever since then, we've been pounding the pavement (sometimes literally!) to make sure those new amenities—shelters, benches, and more—got placed in the bus stops our communities needs most. 

We are thrilled to announce the culmination of that work: The Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) has selected the stops that will receive amenity upgrades, based on criteria developed alongside PPT! 

In other words: your expertise and advocacy won the money for new shelters, and guided the City in placing them in the highest-impact locations. Give yourself a pat on the back! We think this is a fabulous close to a summer of bus stop audits, trainings, and crowdsourced expertise.

You can check out the stops included in the 2025 Transit Stop Improvement Program, and submit comments, at the City's Engage Page for this project.

Image Description: Black text reads "SKILL UP with PPT's Organizing Committee!", decorated with yellow highlights and a red starburst. To the left is a collage of PPT members wearing safety vests and holding clipboards, with a red starburst.

If you're ready for the next step in your organizing, or if you're new to our community and want to see how we get it done, we've got just the thing: our Organizing Committee Training Series!

PPT's Organizing Committee helps us bring more people on board to our work, every month. We phone bank, canvass, and build relationships, building a solid base of transit support throughout Allegheny County. And we want you to join! 

Our staff organizers will be leading trainings every month for the rest of 2025 on critical organizing skills, like canvassing, building our membership, and more.

You won't want to miss October's meeting, where we'll be demystifying the elusive art of the phone bank. Learn everything you need to become an expert phone banker in 90 minutes or less—and have fun doing it! RSVP to join us in person on October 28th!

✊ Monthly Meeting: Plan the Future of Transit Justice
Wednesday, October 8th, 7:00-8:30 PM (optional social at 6:30). HYBRID: join on Zoom or in person at our Shadyside office.

🔎 PPT & Transit for All PA! Research Committee Meeting
Friday, October 10th, 3:00-4:00 PM, virtual

🚌 Press Conference: Defend our Bus Stops & Guarantee Access for All at the Waterfront
Monday, October 20th, 10:00-11:00 AM, IN PERSON at the Waterfront

☎️ PPT Organizing Committee Training: Phone & Text Banking
Tuesday, October 28th, 6:00-7:30 PM, IN PERSON at our Shadyside office

📣 PPT & Transit for All PA! Communications Committee Meeting
Tuesday, November 4th, 6:00-7:00 PM, virtual

Pittsburghers for Public Transit is a grassroots union of transit riders, transit workers and neighbors.