Theme 1: Benefits & barriers to transit
Our first public engagement theme was all about hearing your stories about public transit. What are the benefits of using transit and having it in your neighborhood? What barriers make it difficult for you to get where you need to go? These basic questions are helping us to understand your challenges and prepare for the next phases of the plan where we'll talk about where you want (and need) to go.
This first round of input was important to setting the overall direction of the plan. Check out the content below to see what types of information we were able to gather.
What is the purpose of NEXTransit?
Getting people where they need to go is at the heart of what Port Authority does, and the NEXTransit plan will help us plan for the future of mobility and transit in Allegheny County. Transit is critical to economic and social mobility in our region, and having safe, reliable, and accessible transit means that more people can access the things they want and need in life.
The NEXTransit plan will help us understand our collective transit goals, and what plans, services, and improvements we need to achieve them. This plan will be our guiding document, and the foundation for how we decide what's NEXT for transit in and around Pittsburgh! Learn more on the Plan Details page.
The public engagement themes are shown below within the overall NEXTransit timeline. This phase is described in more detail under the timeline.
Here’s the type of input we gathered:
Benefits & Barriers to Transit
Using transit can be great, but are you puzzled by bus schedules? Not sure how to make a transfer? Get confused by transit schedules and routes? Don't feel safe at your transit stop? Aren't sure how to bring your bike on the bus or the T? Need your bus to run more often or connect to more places, or not take so long to arrive? Or find it difficult or too costly to use the ConnectCard?
We heard stories about your transit challenges, and what we can do to make your trip more accessible and enjoyable. There are many economic and social benefits to having a well-connected and easy-to-use transit system, and our goal is to understand what you value about transit in the Pittsburgh area, and what keeps you from using it more.
How Can I Get Involved?
NEXTransit is built on our partnership with you. To plan for Pittsburgh's transit future, we need to understand where you'd like to go, how you'd like to get there, and what improvements would help make your trip better. Whether you're riding the bus, taking the T, riding your bike, using the incline, or driving your car - we're all affected by transit!
The NEXTransit website is your resource for learning about NEXTransit, finding links to surveys and opportunities to engage with us. In the Education Station, you'll find fun, creative activities for kids (young and old!), and answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about transit and transit planning. Under Events, you'll be able to find information about what's happening right now. Finally, in the Get on Board section, we have some overview information about the NEXTransit project.
Let’s look at previous surveys!
Riders’ views of Port Authority transit service:
In 2018-19, riders were asked about their views on transit service and how well it currently addresses their needs. Respondents were asked a variety of questions and self-identified into specific categories of rider types. Some snapshots of their responses are below.
Transit Rider Types
Dependent Riders: Residents who are ages 18-64, have an annual household income below $35,000, and have earned a high school degree / GED or less, or residents who never have access to a vehicle.
Discretionary Riders: Residents who are ages 25-45, have an annual household income of at least $35,000, and have completed at least some college or a technical degree.
All Other Riders: People who do not identify strongly with either of the above segments. They may sometimes have access to a vehicle, but not reliably.
Before you dive in to the data, here’s some info about transit rider segmentation: for the purposes of the survey shown below, riders self-identified as being dependent riders or discretionary riders. Some people identified with neither group, as the descriptions may not have fit them.
Segmentation is not perfect—there are likely many people who don’t neatly fit into categories for lots of reasons. However, looking at these segments helps us to plan for the needs of as many people as possible.
Pre-NEXTransit Survey Results
The Pittsburgh area, like many cities across North America, has a central business district where a significant concentration of jobs exists. While there is a wide variety of job types Downtown, there are many other jobs in our region in the service, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors that are much more spread out across Allegheny County.
Riders who identify as transit-dependent are more likely to have jobs that are spread out across many employment areas. This is an important factor to consider when thinking about where transit runs, and how often.
Do You Regularly Work Downtown?
Another factor that is important beyond where people are going for work trips is when they need to go there.
Many employment sectors operate outside “traditional office hours,” i.e. weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Because many people do commute to Downtown during these office hours, transit service is heavily focused on moving people during rush hours, because there is a big demand for it.
Looking at the chart in this section, it becomes clearer that not all riders have the same work schedules. Transit-dependent riders not only go places other than Downtown to work, they go there at all hours of the day, every day of the week.
Work Shift Consistency
Regardless of where people are going and when, it is important to understand what people are looking for when it comes to having a good experience.
Bad experiences could cause people to avoid transit. In some cases where people don’t have other options, it could mean that people aren’t able to keep a job, visit family, go to school, or even access basic necessities like food.
The improvements people value vary depending on their income, but two categories stand out—strangely enough they are valued in nearly opposite amounts.
People value adding more service on nights and weekend highly at lower income levels—this amount decreases with additional income.
People value decreasing travel time at high income levels—this amount decreases as incomes get lower.
Ranking Improvements to the Rider Experience (#1 Priority)
Notable quotes from your neighbors:
“ When I travel to other cities, I always use public transit and can easily get around by bus and subway. I would love for Pittsburgh to be this kind of city.”
— Tanya, Greenfield
“Workers and shoppers need Saturday and Sunday service to Ross Park Mall and North Hills Village on the Route 2 bus.”
— Kathleen, Shaler
“Create more routes that don't involve Downtown at all.”
— Richard, East Liberty
“It would be nice if the T actually entered North Side neighborhoods like Manchester instead of just serving the stadiums and casino.”
— Brian, Manchester
“One way for people to prosper economically is to have reliable access to public transportation.”
— Joan, Trafford
“Specifically for the community I live in, I would love to see a ticket vending/connect card machine installed as a short-term solution and an expansion of route options in the long-term.”
— Judith, Etna
“Put the O12 McKnight Flyer on Saturday and Sunday so it doesn't take 2 hours for me to get to work on the weekend.”