The Frankstown

Port Authority wants your opinion. They have started a campaign about it, with signage and brochures on many Pittsburgh PAT buses reading “Don't Just Sit There!” and “Let's Talk; communication is a two way street”. I don't know how many takers they've had, but this is is what I read, neatly printed in black marker, on bus panel separating some seats:

“For incompetent drivers,
dirty buses, high fares,
less bus stops, delays and shitty
service, I chose the
One and only

PAT Transit”

It looked like a poster that could be replicated on other buses.


Port Authority of Allegheny County Public Hearing

Out of curiosity, I attended the public hearing that Port Authority held about a week ago to receive public comment on it's one year development plan, Connect 09. According to PAT, the plan “is aimed at making bus service simpler, faster and more direct.” Better meeting the needs of riders and making the bus service interact more smoothly with the trolley, incline and other transit systems are Port Authority's stated objectives. So I went to see what other riders had to say about it.

I rode the 71C to the hotel near the site where the new hockey arena is being built, instead of taking one of the transit authority's many shuttles set up specifically to get riders to the hearing. The air conditioning on the bus was broken, and it was one of those humid, very late summer days in Pittsburgh. Some riders, me included, were quietly bearing it, while others, like a young woman who got on a few stops after I did, were openly complaining. She said, “I hate to sweat. You know, if somebody got on this damn bus with asthma, they'd have a damn asthma attack.” I don't think she had asthma, but I found myself agreeing with her anyway, even though it made me slightly uncomfortable. You need someone like that. We all do.

When I arrived at the hotel banquet room where the hearing was being held, an elderly woman was just finishing her testimony about service to Garfield. She was upset. Since that is my neighborhood, I followed her out of the ballroom and into the lobby, where PAT officials were there to answer questions about proposed new routes with maps and new schedules. I was quickly rerouted . They wanted to talk to me about my own bus schedules. The woman left saying that they had alleviated all of her fears. I left more confused than ever.

Right now, there is no bus of my dreams that travels the entire length of Penn Avenue- one of Pittsburgh's busiest streets, which runs through and defines many east end neighborhoods. And there will not be such a bus with this new plan, either. Instead, the route for the 86B Fransktown, which practically takes me from my door to within a few blocks of my workplace near Homewood, will be cut in half. For complete door to door service from my home to work now, I can transfer from the 86B to the 71C in East Liberty. With the proposed plan, this will be my only option. Taking the new 88 Penn and transferring to the new 86 Liberty. It is not a very big inconvenience if it helps keep reliable bus service on Frankstown Avenue in Homewood, but it is not ideal- potentially costing me up to $20 more dollars a month. And the new numbering and lettering for the buses make as little sense to me now as they did before.


Some Public Testimony

Back inside the ballroom, I was impressed with the issues raised by riders, and by the gravitas with which they were received by PAT. Here are some of the comments from the portion of the hearing I attended:

Higher fares on Zone two passes are unfair. Many rider can barely afford the current rates- $24 a week to $30 a week.

It is inefficient to have buses running through the middle of the Downtown area. They should run around the perimeter of Downtown to avoid delays and traffic.

It is appalling to raise fares and cut service.

Investing in Park and Rides and catering to suburban commuters rather than neighborhoods within the city which rely on bus service.

There should not be shelters and bus stop signs where there is no longer service. People are confused by them everyday.

New service plans for the 11 route will adversely affect the kids who take that bus to school, and who, with the new reduced schedule, will only have one chance to get it right or be late for school. The new route will also cut those in the neighborhood off from other neighborhoods even more than before.

Please extend the busways to the east and west.


Connect 09... "Because People Want It"

Though the PAT officials were there to listen and not discuss, they did provide a 25 page document explaining their reasons for the Connect 09 overhaul. The gist is to do more with less.

Port Authority says that an overall evaluation of the system has not been done in over 50 years, and that with the new plan, service will be improved for existing riders, and new riders, who they are hoping to woo, will find the service easy to use. 60% of routes will remain the same, 6% will be eliminated, and 31% of routes will change(3% of the changes mean new routes). “Rapid Buses” promise more frequent service with less stops.

The plan has taken 2 years to create and included input from 24 previous studies and reports and from the public at other events and through their phone hotline and website. They say education is key for riders with negative comments,and that most complaints will not be by those with “true mobility concerns”, but by riders who either do not understand the changes or do not want to make changes to their current service.

I guess you can count me among those numbers- I am slow to change. I don't wholly identify with the bus graffiti I saw- for me the bus is affordable, and I find the drivers more than competent. But I will be thinking of their bosses with less than fondness when the person standing next to me at the bus stop is no longer asking, “Did the Frankstown come yet?' It's a neighborhood institution, and it is our bus.