May 2012- Transit News and Events

MovePGH

 MovePGH is the transportation component of the City's initiative to reinvent and redesign its neighborhoods as modern, vibrant , global and diverse communities. A series of workshops that invites community members and stakeholders to the discussion table, MovePGH is looking for ways in which it can redesign the city's transportation infrastructure in order to improve traffic flow. The design is considering alternative modes of transportation such as improving cyclist and pedestrian safety and access.

The Community Workshop #2 that took place in South Side between May 14- May 17 focused on transportation issues related to Downtown, Lower Hill, Uptown , South Side Flats and the Second Ave corridor. Ana Bayne , the Chair of the PR/Marketing Committee participated in a interesting discussion about ways to improve cyclist safety in the South Side Flats with  two members of BikePgh and two members of the Plan Study Team. Another topic that was covered during her hour long conversation with the MovePGH team was the Downtown-Oakland BRT project and its potential to improve peak traffic flow Uptown. 

If you are interested in the city's transportation future and you think that your opinions and experiences can make an impact, we suggest that you attend the third MovePGH community workshop , scheduled for mid- June. For more information on the Community Workshop #3 click here.

If you are interested to find more about the Downtown-Oakland BRT project and its impact on Uptown traffic flow or Hill District's development,  you should visit the Get There PGH website and attend a public meeting.

ConnectCard

The Port Authority started its customer pilot program for the ConnectCard. The pilot program will test market the ConnectCard before the new product will be officially launched for all riders this fall.

If you are a regular rider you can participate in this program and test the ConnectCard before everybody else whether you use monthly, weekly passes or you purchase tickets or pay cash. In order to participate in the program you need sign up online at ConnectCard.org .

Riders chosen to be part of the pilot program will receive a free card by mail,  instructions on how to use it and where to load it. The  participants  in the pilot program will also receive a booklet they can use in order to provide the Port Authority with input on the ConnectCard. Participants are also eligible to be entered in a drawing for a free monthly pass.

Harrisburg Trip

On May 22 ACTC members joined PA Interfaith Impact Network  on their trip to Harrisburg, where they confronted Governor Corbett on two hot issues for Allegheny County- transit and education cuts.  For more  information on PIIN's transit task force click here.

March Transit News

The ConnectCard



We published the first details on Port Authority's new fare system in June, last year : Technology to improve Port Authority’s rider experience with the fare-system. As frequent riders on Oakland routes had noticed , all Pitt students and staff are now using the new ConnectCard system. Starting March 1st , another category of frequent riders on the Port Authority transit lines will be using the new system too: annual pass holders.

Market tests for monthly passes will also start in March. Another series of market tests -for those riders who are interested to load only cash fares, rather than monthly or weekly passes will follow soon.

More information on the ConnectCard and its benefits can be found here: connectcard.org.


Lenora P. Brooks , the project manager for the new ConnectCard fare system, answered a few additional questions about the new system on February 15th during the last general ACTC meeting:

• Were will I be able to buy the ConnectCard?

Most retailers that sell ticket books and passes right now will be equipped with ConnectCard Sales Terminals. Additional vending machines will be placed in high traffic areas cross the Allegheny County. With time, you will also be able to order and recharge a ConnectCard online.

• What if I lose my ConnectCard?

If you lose your ConnectCard, you will be able to call the PortAuthority and ask for a replacement card. A "Balance Protection" program will be available at no additional cost to you. The program will link each card to an individual user so as soon customer reports a stolen or lost card, the balance is automatically transferred on the customer's new card.

• What if my ConnectCard gets demagnetized?

The ConnectCard is not a magnetic card. The system uses RFID technology to store the information on the card.

• How do purchase a transfer?

there will be no need to purchase a separate transfer any longer. Once a rider had charged a full fare on its ConnectCard , any consequent trip in the next three hours will be charged at transfer rate instead of full fare rate.

The North Shore Connector

The North Shore Connector will become fully operational on March 25th. And again, once the North Shore Connector becomes fully operational , two bus routes the 14th and the 18th will turn around at the Allegheny stop instead of going all the way downtown. As it stands right now , all riders on these two routes will receive the mandatory free transfer so they can use the North Shore Connector in order to continue their travel downtown.

Technology to improve Port Authority’s rider experience with the fare-system

I do not know about other transit riders, but I can barely wait until I will be able to use the new ConnectCard system to pay for my fares.  This is why I decided to make sure that I will board the same bus as my friend F.H who is one of the 300 University of Pittsburg employees and students asked to test the system.

Like all Pitt staff and students, my friend’s fare is covered by her employer and she can use her University issued ID in lieu of a bus pass. With the new system in place, instead of presenting her ID to the bus driver she is swiping it over the orange magnetic reader positioned on the top of the fare box. The system validates her ID instantly, bypasses the current procedure by which the driver has to check the pass to validate it manually and streamlines the process.

Another advantage of the new system is a significant reduction of fraud.  Currently there are riders who “share” one transit pass by transferring it with one quick move to the next rider. With the new system this “trick” won’t work any longer.  As I was trying to take a picture of my friend as she was swiping her card,   I missed the first shot so with the driver’s concurrence she swiped it again. As we were expecting, the second time she tried her ID was no longer validated.



Bus rider using the new farebox system



L.H., another friend and University of Pittsburgh employee who is participating in the system’s first test group,  told me that the new system worked perfectly until today. We believe that she is one of the 25 test participants who will have their IDs deactivated randomly during the four week test period in order to make sure that previous students who are no longer enrolled with the University as well as former staff members will not take advantage of the system by using their expired IDs long after they stopped being valid. 

L.H. also noted that while the new system will make streamline the fare paying process for those riders who purchase tickets or passes, when it comes to paying the fare in cash the system is slower. This implies that in order to make the new system successful the Port Authority will have to develop a comprehensive system of distribution for ConnectCards  that includes on-line , brick-and –mortar and why not, mobile options.

To read more about the new ConnectCard fare system check our April updates. And a short note on the first testing phase here.