Cuts In Suburban Pittsburgh Bus Routes Changed Lives

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Allegheny County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A couple years ago, when Gloria Jefferson of McKeesport wanted to go somewhere, she walked to a bus stop near her house.

Then, in 2011, her commute became much less convenient. During a round of cuts to fix a budget deficit, the Port Authority canceled her route, which ran through the middle of McKeesport. Now, Ms. Jefferson, who is 80, has to walk a mile downhill to another stop.

The walk is tough for her, especially when she’s carrying grocery bags. Sometimes, she pays for a ride there or avoids going places. She wonders whether she’ll still be able to make the walk when she gets older.

“Right now, I feel good. How long it’s going to last, I don’t know,” she said. “I keep on praying that one day they’ll turn it around and bring the bus back up the hill.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2014/04/06/Cuts-in-suburban-bus-routes-changed-lives/stories/201404060065#ixzz2y9vjCoPz

York Public Transportation To Improve With Bill

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting York County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The aging fleet of public transportation buses in York County will get a boost from the recently passed state transportation bill, as could Rabbit Transit‘s plans for a fleet conversion from diesel to natural gas.

Rabbit Transit CEO Richard Farr said the $2.3 billion package “couldn’t be passed a moment too soon,” as about 64 percent of the organization’s 87-vehicle fleet is beyond its useful life or will be in 2014.

That means they’ve surpassed 12 years of age or 600,000 miles, “and we have vehicles with mileage as high as 900,000 miles,” he said.

The old buses are more expensive to maintain, to the tune of an extra $600,000 per year, he said, and in recent months two of them had to be retired because the frames are cracked beyond repair, making them unsafe to haul passengers.

Read more: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking/ci_24801596/york-public-transportation-improve-bill

Bus Driver And Three Passengers In Critical Condition Following Fatal Crash

NEW COLUMBIA, PA — One woman was killed and 44 people were injured early this morning when a Greyhound commercial passenger bus and tractor trailer collided on Interstate 80 in Union County.

Approximately 20 ambulances from five counties responded to the crash site on Interstate 80 westbound at Mile Marker 206, about four miles west of the Route 15 interchange in White Deer Township.

State police at Milton said the accident occurred at 1:41 a.m., but no other details have been released.

A total of 49 passengers, plus the bus driver, were aboard the passenger bus traveling non-stop from New York City to Cleveland, Ohio.

Read more: http://dailyitem.com/0100_news/x703134040/BREAKING-NEWS-Charter-bus-and-tractor-trailer-crash-in-Union-County

Proposal Will Make Downtown Pittsburgh Core Totally Bus-Free

Locator map with the Central Business District neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania highlighted. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Port Authority has begun working on a plan to remove buses and bus stops from the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh.

The plan, backed by Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and the city’s presumptive mayor-to-be, Bill Peduto, would relocate routes and stops toward the edges of the Golden Triangle, creating what Mr. Fitzgerald called “a zone in the core of Downtown that is bus-free.”

Details have not been worked out and Mr. Fitzgerald said the changes aren’t likely until sometime next year. “We don’t want to rush into it and not do it right,” he said.

Mr. Peduto said he envisions a circular route pattern using wider streets toward the edges of Downtown rather than having buses coming from four different directions and turning around in the middle of town.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/proposal-will-make-downtown-pittsburgh-core-totally-bus-free-706169/#ixzz2glvcd970

Woman Killed In Apparent Hit-And-Run In Lower Pottsgrove

Location of Lower Pottsgrove Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

LOWER POTTSGROVE TOWNSHIP, PA — A bus reportedly struck an elderly woman on Mervine Street in an apparent hit-and-run in Lower Pottsgrove early Monday morning.

The woman was apparently struck around 7 a.m. by what police are describing as a bus.

It is unknown if the striking vehicle was a school bus or one from a transportation company, but police are still looking for the vehicle.

Both Pottstown and Pottsgrove School Districts said the bus was not affiliated with them.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130909/NEWS01/130909478/(updated)-breaking-woman-killed-in-apparent-hit-and-run-in-lower-pottsgrove-#full_story

6-Year-Old Missing For Hours After Bus Mix-Up

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  As the grandparent of a six-year-old granddaughter, this would send me about over the edge!  Many thanks to Reading Police Office Chevron Salata for finding Adriann.

For more than four terrifying hours, Brenda McMullen and her family were left to imagine the worst.

McMullen’s 6-year-old grandson, Adriann Flemming Jr., was missing on Wednesday.  And those who love the little boy had no idea where to find him.

The ordeal was the result of yet another Reading School District busing mistake, a problem that has plagued the district during the opening week of school.

In this instance, Adriann was put on the wrong bus after school at 16th & Haak Elementary School and taken to the wrong day care center.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=412488

Pottstown Area Rapid Transit Fares To Increase August 1st!

Please click on the link below to learn what changes are taking place for Pottstown Area Rapid Transit (PART) users in a few days: http://www.pottstown.org/PDF/2012-part-fare-increase.pdf

Oversight Of Allegheny County Transit To Shift From Pittsburgh Port Authority To Public Utility Commission

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Allegheny County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Pennsylvania Legislature has approved a measure stripping the Port Authority of its power to regulate transportation services in Allegheny County, transferring it to the state’s Public Utility Commission.

Supporters of the measure, sponsored by House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Bradford Woods, said it will end the Port Authority’s “monopoly” on providing transit service in the county.

“By allowing other transportation agencies to offer services, the people will be far better served,” Mr. Turzai said in a news release after the Senate approved the bill in a 27-21 vote. “Eliminating the transit monopoly is a win-win for taxpayers and transit riders.”

The bill was passed earlier by the House and now awaits Gov. Tom Corbett‘s approval. He will sign it, spokeswoman Kelli Roberts said.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/transportation/oversight-of-county-transit-to-shift-from-port-authority-to-public-utility-commission-639869/#ixzz1xV84CRR5

Allentown Woman Punches LANTA Bus Driver Over Fare, Police Say

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Editor’s note:  What a class act.  Evidently somebody needs an anger management course.

A LANTA bus driver who challenged a passenger’s claim to a student discount was slugged by the passenger as the vehicle moved from an Allentown bus stop, police said.

Daquasia Kim Ransome, 18, of 513 N. Silk St., Allentown, was arrested Friday after city police used bus surveillance video from the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority to determine who attacked the driver two weeks ago.

Ransome got on the bus 3:08 p.m. Feb. 27 at Hamilton and Seventh streets, and handed the $1 student rate – half the regular fare – to driver Barbara Rosamilia, police said. An argument began when Rosamilia asked which school Ransome goes to, police said.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-lanta-bus-driver-attacked-in-allentown-20120312,0,2717958.story

SEPTA TO HALT SERVICE DURING HURRICANE IRENE

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All SEPTA Services To Be Suspended During Hurricane Irene. Operations to Halt at 12:30 a.m. Sunday; Services to Resume Mid-Day Sunday, As Conditions Permit.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (August 26, 2011)

In the interest of public safety, with a hurricane of historic proportions approaching the region, SEPTA will cease all transportation operations at12:30 a.m. Sunday.

All trips scheduled after 12:30 a.m. Sunday will be cancelled.  Service is not expected to resume until at least mid-day Sunday, following damage assessments and repairs. Service will resume on a route-by-route basis, based on conditions.

SEPTA strongly urges all customers who normally ride the system during this time period to make arrangements to go to your destination well in advance of the storm and be prepared to remain safely at that location until the storm has passed and service has resumed.

Announcements regarding the resumption of service will be announced through the Office of the Mayor of Philadelphia and SEPTA’s Website, www.septa.org.

All SEPTA employees normally assigned to work during the period of the shutdown or who are assigned to emergency duty are required to report to work at their assigned locations.