Connecting more people to jobs and their communities by supporting improvements to public transportation in Pennsylvania

We seek sustainable Pennsylvania funding for transit and advocate for service improvements to make transit more efficient.

The transportation challenges Pennsylvania faces in the coming decades can undermine every effort to increase jobs, lift people out of poverty and build resiliency to climate change. There is a national infrastructure crisis -- road systems designed for the past rather than the future and billions of dollars in repair and maintenance projects that have been delayed too long. At a time when significant investment is needed, Congress seems paralyzed. It is time for Pennsylvanians to act by supporting sustainable funding for public transportation!

Transit brings over a million employees and customers to Pennsylvania businesses every day.

 

Access to Jobs

Transit gets people to work who otherwise could not reach a job. Transit is key to lifting people out of poverty.

Case Study: 90% of Philadelphia's Cira Center workers arrive by transit despite the fact that the building is located next to an interstate on-ramp and has an attached parking garage

80% of Philadelphia hospitality workers use public transit to get to work

Delivering Customers

With millennials choosing not to drive at record rates -- and baby boomers aging -- a huge customer base is interested in using public transportation to go shopping. Beyond retail, health care consumers use transit to reach essential services.

Saving Money for Users -- And Non-Users

Spending money on transit is cheaper than building new highways in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Users of shared modes spend less on transportation overall.

 
cira.jpg

Cira Center

90% of workers arrive by transit

Public transportation connects Pennsylvanians to their communities in different ways

slide2.jpg
he1bus30z-52846.jpg
12 - Fort Washington.jpg

Small Town and Rural Access to Services

Senior citizens make up 44% of all transit riders in rural Pennsylvania.

Small town and rural cmmunities are reliant on the state of Pennsylvania for a majority of their operating subsidies.

Urban
Lifeline

One-third of all Philadelphia households do not own a car, with significant numbers of people in the middle class choosing not to own a car.

Philadelphia middle and high school students take SEPTA as their school bus, attending charter and special admission schools across the city.

Transit increases opportunities for urban residents to find a job. Low income people spend a larger share of their income on transportation but transit keeps more money in their pockets and increases the chances people can work their way out of poverty.

Suburban
Mobility

The regional rail system connecting to Philadelphia gives suburban workers access to jobs -- half of all workers in Center City commute from the suburbs.  Adding those roughly 50,000 additional commuters to the highways would create unmanageable commute times and likely lead to employers relocating to other regions.

While car ownership rates are not as low in the suburbs as in the city, transit gives suburban residents mobility options that give access to more jobs, reduces cars on congested roads and allows low-income people to spend less money on transportation.

 

Importance of Buses

Improving the efficiency of bus service is great for passengers -- getting people to their destination faster and more dependably. Improving efficiency is also great for the transit system and the taxpayer -- faster buses means more frequent service can be run with the same number of buses. This is a virtuous cycle -- the faster the bus is the more people will choose to ride it.

Recommendations from New York City could inform how service can be improved in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Ride Sharing

Ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft offer a service that can both compete with and supplement public transportation. Whether ride sharing undermines or augments transit can be influenced by the policies we adopt in Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh is a living laboratory for the future of autonomous vehicles and can have a meaningful impact on how public transportation is served by future technology.

Ride sharing has the potential to provide more efficient paratransit service -- but it’s not there yet. What needs to change?

Delivering Value for Customers and Taxpayers

Transit agencies spend over $1 billion with Pennsylvania businesses every year.

Spending money on transit is cheaper than building new highways in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

 

 
 

TAKE ACTION

Take our rider survey

Give $2.50 -- that's one bus fare