Bus bike racks, kind of a big deal

Pittsburgh's Port Authority of Allegheny County bus system announced last Friday (Sept. 23, 2011) that it had completed outfitting each of its buses with racks that can hold two bicycles. As one who's been trying to use the Rack-Ride-Roll system since its earliest days, I can provide some helpful perspective.

First of all, for many of us, bicycles are transportation, not recreation. Tools, not toys. Whether we own cars or not (a good many of us do not), or whether we even have driver's licenses or not (you might be surprised how many of us choose this, emphasis upon choose), the bike is an integral part of how we get around. Ignore our backstories. We bike by choice.

More on Anything but the car

How do you get to your bus stop?

There is a very good reason why transit service providers and transit advocates need to get more involved in the discussion regarding pedestrian safety and access. You can design a transit system that provides service with less than a mile from most areas with high population concentration, yet if pedestrians cannot get to it safely then it will be useless.

The issue went beyond pedestrian safety, as shown by this story about a mother from Georgia who was convicted of vehicular homicide this week for having to cross the street with her children in an unmarked place, as Tania Snyder details in the Streetsblog Capitol Hill.

Fortunately, compared to Marietta, GA, our own Pittsburgh is quite safe for pedestrians, according to this Transportation for America study. But it may not remain as safe as we used to know for long if we do not request safe pedestrian access for every new development, for every transit stop. It is our right as pedestrians, and if we are to insist on the matter, we shall see positive results.

Look at this bus shelter on an isolated patch of grass. Beyond it stretches a newly built parking lot and shopping center. Located on Freeport Road, the bus stop is served by four routes - 1 Freeport Road (7 days per week), and 78, P16, P78 (on weekdays). Yet in spite of being in place before Target built its new store and adjacent parking lot in 2006-2007, there was no effort to build a pedestrian pathway or sidewalk from the shopping center to the shelter until very recently. And, since it is Target and not the Port Authority of Allegheny County which has the right of the way, it is only Target which can build those pathways and/or sidewalks.

Picture credit: Michael Sypolt

However, after the picture above was posted on ACTC’s Facebook page and led to an animated discussion on the issue, we were able to contact the Port Authority. Soon we were informed that after receiving numerous complaints, they had contacted Target and the store’s management committed to build the proper pedestrian access. About a month and a half later, there was a sidewalk along Freeport Road, a pedestrian pathway across the parking lot, and access ramps by the most recent ADA Title II standards.



Picture credit: Michael Sypolt



And if we end up asking ourselves how hard was it to provide pedestrian access to the Freeport bus shelter from our story, the answer should be – as hard as we want to make it.



Picture credit: Michael Sypolt



Picture credit: Michael Sypolt



TFAC to propose toll revenues as source for transit funding

The Transportation Funding Advisory Commission plans to present its final proposal on how to deal with Pennsylvania’s $3.5 billion transportation budget deficit. As part of the proposal, there is an increase of funding to mass transit by at least $450 million annually.


One of the suggested resources for funding transiting: redirecting all revenues from the PA turnpike towards transit. Currently , from the $450 million collected annually from Turnpike tolls only $250 million goes to mass transit and $200 million is used for the highway fund. The Transportation Funding Advisory Commission proposed to use the entire revenue to fund transit, while the lost revenue for highways would be replaced from other funding sources.

“HARRISBURG — The state transportation funding commission will recommend
redirecting a portion of turnpike toll revenue to the state's highway and mass
transit funds."It would not be a change in the total money that the turnpike is
obligated to pay," said Barry Schoch, the state Secretary of Transportation and
commission chairman. "But I think the intent here is to say, 'Let's use more of
that available turnpike money for transit rather than for highways.'"

Read more in the Daily Local News: “Commission to push for tolls to fund mass transit” by Eric Boehm, PA Independent.

"Pittsburgh is currently the only BRT system in the United States that operates a direct service model, meaning that local, limited and express services share the East Busway, accommodating a wide variety of transit needs. As the  buses serving suburban routes enter the main corridors, they transfer onto the dedicated bus lanes via connection ramps, making transfer-free trips for passengers. The BRT buses can also exit the busway and use city streets to deliver passengers to destinations."

States Stephanie Lotshaw on the “Streetsblog Capitol Hill”. [Read more here: http://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/06/20/profiles-in-american-brt-pittsburghs-south-busway-and-east-busway/]

Are you a South Busway or East Busway Rider? How does this work for you?

Do you consider  that bus service on the above mentioned Busways meets the FTA requirements

“BRT is an enhanced bus system that operates on bus lanes or other transitways in order to combine the flexibility of buses with the efficiency of rail. By doing so, BRT operates at faster speeds, provides greater service reliability and increased customer convenience. It also utilizes a combination of advanced technologies, infrastructure and operational investments that provide significantly better service than traditional bus service."

(http://www.fta.dot.gov/assistance/technology/research_4240.html )