Category Archives: Transportation

Coming this Fall, a Transit-Tastic Event!

Are you a big sustainability nerd? Or are you looking for ways to improve transportation in your area? Well, then you’re going want to check out the Rail~Volution conference coming to Pittsburgh this fall. What’s Rail~Volution, you might ask? It’s a non-profit organization that seeks to build more livable communities with transit. You know, like what’s happening in forward-thinking cities like Pittsburgh.

The annual three-day conference, previously held in places like Denver, Portland, Dallas, Boston, and San Fran, features 80 sessions related to transit and livability. The event is for “people involved in urban planning, people who are involved in policy-making, people who are involved in advocacy related to development issues in any way shape or form,” says Breen Masciotra, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Project Manager for the Port Authority of Allegheny County. She explains that the event will “offer education, networking, and community…. and connects you to like-minded people that you can reach out to all year; it’s like summer camp for adults.”

Rail~Volution will be held on October 21-24, with registration in June. But before then, the Rail~Volution National Steering Committee, made up of 40+ livability professionals from across the United States and Canada, is calling for conference speakers. The committee seeks presenters for the event’s workgroups on topics that include: Innovations in Mobility to Enhance Livability; Transforming Communities through Transit-Oriented; Making Transit Great Again; Shaping Transit for Community Needs; Diversity: Equitable Development, Community Engagement, Communication and Placemaking; and Rail~Volution PK Slam, powered by PechaKucha. “Everyone and anyone should submit something; we are hoping to have a strong participation from local speakers,” notes Masciotra. Proposals are being accepted now till March 22nd. To learn more, visit the Call for Speakers page on Rail~Volution’s website.

To find out more about the conference or Rail~Volution head over to RailVolution.org. Also, stay tuned to Rail~Volution’s Facebook page for details on upcoming Happy Hour events and volunteer opportunities.

 

Movement for Increased Passenger Rail Service in Pittsburgh Gaining Steam

Pennsylvanian

The Pennsylvanian, moments after arriving at Pittsburgh’s Penn Station. It rolled in 20 minutes ahead of schedule. The Amtrak route’s on time performance is 91.7%.

Gloria Skillings arrived at Pittsburgh’s Penn Station from Philadelphia on a recent August evening. She opted to take the train for the scenic value and because it’s less hassle than flying.

Still, Skillings laments Pittsburgh’s Amtrak service, “It’s limited.”

She’s right. Only one train per day departs from Pittsburgh and services Harrisburg, Philadelphia, New York City, and places in between. Likewise for travellers coming from NYC. They get one shot at getting to Pittsburgh on passenger rail. The Amtrak route is known as the Pennsylvanian

Stops Along the Pennsylvianina

Station stops along the Pennsylvanian. There were 12 roundtrip trains 45 years ago. Today there’s just one.

A group called Western Pennsylvanians for Passenger Rail is pushing for increased service on the Pennsylvanian. They say there’s enough demand to support three trains a day between Pittsburgh to New York City and vice versa.

The all volunteer organization started gathering around four or five years ago. They wanted to fight to give Pittsburgers more travel options.

[Tweet “There were 12 roundtrip trains between #Pittsburgh and #NYC 45 years ago. Today there’s just one.” cc @Amtrak]

“We have a population in the city that doesn’t have cars. That lack of choice means you’re isolated here unless you have a car,” said Lucinda Beattie, a WPPR board member.

Beattie says Pittsburgh has a successful downtown and that linking to other city centers by rail is vital to its continual growth. “Its important for us to remain a competitive metropolitan area,” she said. “We have a significant student population. Students are a major audience for passenger rail.”

WPPR found that people were receptive and liked the notion of more passenger rail, but needed hard numbers to prove its viability.

The group partnered with The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to create a study to find out if any of their ideas were realistic. The results showed that not only is it feasible, it’s relatively affordable with an estimated price tag of $10.5 Million-$12.8 Million annually. That’s compared with the $2.6 billion Pennsylvania spent on highway and bridge projects in 2014.

The study was released in spring of 2014. Since then, WPPR and the PDP started making presentations to municipalities and other interest groups. Earlier this summer, they met with the Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee.

It was boost to their mission to meet with the policy makers who have the power to make their idea a reality. Both Democrats and Republicans who serve on that committee were receptive to increased rail west of Harrisburg. Though the Pennsylvanian is run by Amtrak, it’s primarily funded by the state and managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

“There are 13 passenger rail trains per day between Harrisburg and Philadelphia,” said Beattie, who also works as Vice President of Transportation at the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. “The challenges are getting PennDOT engaged to request extra service from Amtrak.”

She says once the state budget impasse gets resolved, the PDP and WPPR will continue to build off the goodwill generated by the House Transportation Committee meeting. Rail supporters will encourage lawmakers to engage with Amtrak and Norfolk Southern, who own the tracks between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.

“This is where advocacy comes in.” said Beattie, saying that the cost of the proposal is so much less than many transportation projects ever pay. She says additional benefits include the fact rail is more environmentally friendly, it serves sparsely populated communities where bus service is limited, and it’s more accommodating for people with disabilities and the elderly.

More than a dozen individuals and organizations officially signed on in support of increased service on the Pennsylvanian, including Greater Pittsburgh Hotel Association, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, and Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.

In a letter to PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards sent earlier this year, Mayor Peduto urged the agency to enter into discussion with Amtrak about increasing service to and from Pittsburgh.

“The addition of two more trains would help increase this city’s connectivity, much of which has been lost over the past five decades, as passenger rail, bus, and airline options have been decreased,” Peduto said in the letter.

Buzz about adding train service is growing. Toby Fauver, PennDOT deputy secretary for multi-modal transportation said recently that he hopes to see one additional train between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia within the next 10 years.

Gloria Skillings, a resident of Pittsburgh for more than 40 years, says service has been limited ever since she can remember.

“I think I could remember taking a daytime train to Chicago,” said Skillings, thinking way back to her earliest days in Pittsburgh.

Travellers do have two other daily train options: a midnight train to Chicago and an early early morning train to Washington D.C.

WPPR would love for increased service on those lines too, but since it travels through several states and the District of Columbia it’s more challenging to advocate for. Right now the group is focusing on making passenger rail across Pennsylvania thrive.

.@PennDotNews – Please expand rail service on The Pennsylvanian to #3trainsaday! #WPPR @NARPrail

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Follow Western Pennsylvanians for Passenger Rail on Facebook here.

lyft pittsburgh

Lyft Expands Pittsburgh Coverage Area

Lyft

Lyft (Photo credit: Spiros Vathis)

Almost two months ago – I wrote a blog post about how the car service with the pink mustaches is launching in Pittsburgh.  It looks like Pittsburgh has embraced this transportation alternative.

I was actually in the middle of writing a post about how Lyft is another transportation option to get from the city to the airport.  Until today the Lyft drivers would only pick up in the city coverage area.  But, that just changed with the announcement that Lyft has expanded their coverage area in Pittsburgh.

Lyft Coverage Area Now Includes the Pittsburgh Airport

Lyft has expanded the pick up area in Pittsburgh to include the Pittsburgh airport.  So a Lyft driver can now pick up a passenger anywhere in the city and west to the Airport.  Lyft drivers are authorized to drive passengers upto 60 miles from the pick up spot (Lyft Driver FAQ).

lyft pittsburgh

 

I used Lyft twice last month to get to the Pittsburgh airport.  A ride from the east end cost about $50.  Drivers will drop you right at the airport.

Pittsburgh Lyft – Available 24 Hours a Day

Additionally – Lyft now operates 24 hours a day in the city of Pittsburgh.  The hours in February we only 7am to 1am and 7am to 3am on Friday and Saturdays.

Tips for Using Lyft

I found this blog post – 10 Things Lyft Drivers Should Tell Passengers – by Lyft driver Greg Muender to be a helpful read before my first ride.

If you would like to try Lyft – click here to get a free first ride on Lyft.

Have you used Lyft or Uber in Pittsburgh yet? What do you think?

I have only used Lyft thus far, and I know several people who drive for Uber.  Yes, there are some risks in this model of peer-to-peer ride sharing. Overall, I think that having alternatives to drinking and driving in Pittsburgh is an important step for safety of all residents of Pittsburgh. It would be great to have more taxi cabs on the street and accessible.

Have you used these services yet?  What are your thoughts?

(Thanks to Lyft driver and Muffin Maker Get Mo Muffins for the heads up on the expanded coverage area)

If you are interested in learning more about Lyft – here are some blog posts you might like…