Contract Approved! What's Next?

The P-G has said it: the contact has been approved by the union 1,388-44.

Now the focus is on fixing the Port Authority. The system is a troubled one, with some routes that have not been touched since they were streetcars over 50 years ago.

That's where Connect '09 comes in. The Port Authority has been surprisingly open about the findings so far from Nelson\Nygaard, a transit consulting firm. They are doing a complete look at the system, each route at a time. The documents are slowly coming in, like this one with overall suggestions. Some of these findings ring very true:

• Service is Too Complicated
• Too Much Service is Too Specialized
• There is a Large Amount of Duplicative/Overlapping Service
• Many Routes are Too Long
• Routes are Very Circuitous
• There are Too Many Stops
• Service is Scheduled Very Irregularly
• Service is Not Well Coordinated
• Service is Not Scheduled in Consideration of Productivity Impacts
• Service is Not Scheduled Efficiently

Ouch. But yes, one thing is very true about a lot of PAT routes: either they are tiny feeders that run 4 times a day and therefore get no riders or they are incredibly long routes that try to serve everyone and have huge gaps in ridership.

Thanks to the analysis, you can see how your route is doing: they posted a 10-20 page analysis on each route in the system. Yes, Christmas came early for us transit nerds. These analyses have rider counts for EVERY stop on EVERY route. You can even see how much Port Authority is paying for you to ride. On the excellent-performing 71A route through North Oakland and Shadyside it's $1.50 a ride. On the poor performing 25A in Moon and Coraopolis it's $15.28. Or you can see how complicated your route is: did you know the 46G through the South Hills to Elizabeth has 38(!) different variants?

The transit study also provides solutions for many routes. A lot of routes have the same solutions: eliminate rarely used or clustered stops, consolidate routes that use the same corridor, convert long routes to feeders that connect to popular routes (or busways or the T), use easy to remember headways, or even convert some routes to ACCESS-style demand service.

Some recommendations are a bit strange, such as these for the 77F:

Improve Service to the Pittsburgh Zoo to provide a more useful schedule that could serve both employees and visitors.

Discontinue Service to the Pittsburgh Zoo: Alternatively, discontinue service to the zoo due to very low ridership.

Some routes are beyond repair, like the 44D, a South Hills T feeder route that costs $37 a person.

The findings are fascinating, and all people interested in Pittsburgh transit should take a look. Whether these suggestions will ever be carried out is another factor, due to the fact that no one likes to eliminate bus service. I hope to see more people breaking down these new statistics, and you may even see some more analysis here.

61Christmas

I took a 61C on December 25th. Thankfully Port Authority still has Holiday service.

The 61C McKeesport-Homestead bus is a very busy one, and a unique route in the system. It starts in McKeesport, a downtrodden industry town and home of the McKeesport Transportation Center. Ok, that makes it sound much more glamorous than it is. It's a Kiss-And-Ride, meaning that there are spaces for idling cars but not commuters.

It's also a modern look on how Port Authority has failed. It used to be a train station for the PATrain, commuter service between McKeesport and Pittsburgh. More info from a model rail fan here. Now it's a starting place for 15 or so bus lines. I believe there's a driver's lounge on the second floor, since I've seen drivers go up there between routes. The first floor is obviously a former waiting room and ticket office. Now it's just an empty box that the door sometimes keeps warm. That 2001 article describes a vending machine and fountain that are now gone. It also describes availability of schedules, which is also gone. They can't even use Port Authority owned land to tell people about their services. Oh well.

Anyway, it's the starting point for the 61C. And the start of my journey on Christmas Day. Many people would wonder who would ride a bus on Christmas Day. I was very interesting to see who would join me on that ride. I, like a few others that boarded, wanted to visit others on Christmas. But a few people got on wearing their work outfits. Security and hospital workers mostly. Some people don't get the day off.

So the bus journeyed on the near-empty roads. Into Duquesne, a city that lost it's high school due to low enrollment, low tax revenue, and low performance. Past Kennywood, an amusement park created at the end of a trolley line that this bus may have replaced. Into Homestead, home of a historic steel strike that is now the site of a large shopping complex. Then across the Homestead Grays Bridge to Greenfield and Squirrel Hill. The latter is a prominent Jewish community where a decent amount of storefronts were open like any other weekday. And then to Oakland, my destination and home to premiere universities and hospitals. A group of students who stayed for the break left the bus, and were glad to hear from the driver that the buses still run late tonight.

The route is a journey of Pittsburgh, past work and play, blight and revitalization, education and health, and diverse communities. Riding on a day like this makes you realize who needs good public transportation. Those getting to work on off-days. People visiting family and friends. Students away from home. Those who observe different holidays. Because for them, it's not just a way to a 9-5 job. It's how they get around like anyone with a car. And I'm grateful it's still around.