Executive Report - The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership

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Perceived Barriers to Use and Perceptions of Public Transit•For non-bus users, “lack of familiarity with Downtown bus routes” is the greatestbarrier to choosing public transit. Attention to making bus routes more easilyunderstood by the public is needed if transit ridership is to increase. For example,visitors to special events represent a special category of Downtown user who visitDowntown infrequently but, when they do, it is in numbers that can have adisproportional impact on traffic flow if they enter Downtown during the morning orevening weekday rush hour. They are also the group who use public transit theleast and are most likely to use their own car when traveling to additionalDowntown destinations. And they are especially put off by the existing Downtownbus routing and numbering systems.→Create a series of clear, simple color-coded transit corridors to makeexisting Downtown bus routes easily comprehensible. Use brochures,Downtown transit maps, and color-coded bus stop signs to conveyinformation to such target audiences as downtown employees, visitors,shoppers, students and residents.•By contrast, of the three market segments with high public transit use (students,residents, and employees) two segments – students and residents - regard “lengthof time waiting for the bus” as their biggest barrier to use and employees regard“lack of familiarity with Downtown bus routes’ as their biggest barrier. In terms ofimportance, employees rate “bus and ‘T’ availability” and “length of time waiting fora bus” as most important. Students rate “length of time waiting for the bus and ‘T’“as most important; and residents rate “bus availability” and “’T” noise level asmost important.→The issues of “availability” of service and “length of time waiting” for eitherthe bus or the ‘T’ speak to frequency of public transit service. In terms ofPort Authority’s present system of operations, there is a high frequency ofservice during the two workday rush hours and reduced service in non-rushhours and on the weekends. For those who use public transit withinDowntown, frequency of service on both the bus and “T” is of greatimportance. In fact, Port Authority’s largest market segment – Downtownemployees - who only use public transit to get into and out of Downtown,perceive “lack of familiarity with Downtown bus routes” as their biggestbarrier to public transit use but “availability of bus and ‘T’” service” as theirmost important issue. One solution is to implement a Downtown circulatorthat provides greater frequency of service during the week in non-rushhours.•While public transit in other U.S. urban markets is often perceived as thetransportation option only for people of lower socio-economic status, Pittsburghersoverwhelmingly reject that characterization of Pittsburgh’s public transit ridershipand see it as an appropriate means of travel for people of all socio-economicclasses. In fact, the higher the frequency of coming into Downtown by a particularmarket segment, the higher the percentage of respondents who disagreed with thestatement “I think public transit is for people who can’t afford a car.”→In Pittsburgh, the lack of negative stigma attached to public transit useprovides transit companies with a marketing opportunity to increase26
idership by focusing on the positive benefits of public transit without havingto counteract damaging stereotypes.Awareness of the Downtown ‘Free Fare’ Transit Zone•Downtown employees are the market segment most likely to be aware of the ‘freefare’ transit zone, while at the same time being the least likely to use it.Employees are also the least likely to be motivated to use the ‘free fare’ transitzone after it has been explained to them – with only 7.7% indicating that theywould be “very likely” to use the zone.→Since the majority of the daily Downtown population is made up ofemployees, outreach to employers and their employees is a key strategy toincrease the use of public transit in Greater Downtown Pittsburgh.•Overall usage of the ‘free fare’ transit zone is low, with only 1 in 5 respondents usingthe free zone at least weekly. For example, only 12.6% of all employees, thesingle largest market segment with over 93% coming into Downtown 5 or moretimes a week, use the ‘free fare’ transit zone at least once per week.→→Pro-actively direct information about use of the ‘free fare’ transit zone toemployers and their employees, including both transit and non-transit userssince nearly half of all employees use transit to travel to and fromDowntown Pittsburgh.Develop and execute a marketing program to promote the use of the ‘freefare’ transit zone for Downtown circulation. In addition, promoteinformation on how the existing ‘free fare’ transit zone operates, since lessthan 2% of people who travel within Downtown Pittsburgh fully understandthe programmatic elements.•Port Authority’s bus routing system efficiently delivers and distributes riders toDowntown Pittsburgh and then efficiently picks them up and takes them out ofDowntown on a daily basis. However, based on the minimal use of the ‘free fare’transit zone within Downtown, the Downtown transit system does not offer efficientservice for point- to-point circulation within the Golden Triangle and the GreaterDowntown area.→Develop a more comprehensive Downtown circulation system using theexisting bus routes as a base and make the necessary route adjustmentsto provide efficient and effective point-to-point circulation within the GoldenTriangle and throughout the Greater Downtown area.27
Page 2 and 3: I. INTRODUCTIONIn June 2005, the Pi
Page 4 and 5: Graph 1: Mode of Travel To and From
Page 6 and 7: Graph 4: Analysis by Market Segment
Page 8 and 9: Using data obtained from the survey
Page 10 and 11: Below, Table 3 lists the Downtown d
Page 12 and 13: than the intended meaning, which wa
Page 14 and 15: Graph 9: Ratings by Market Segment
Page 16 and 17: While the perception that public tr
Page 18 and 19: When determining the level of aware
Page 20 and 21: In looking at the market segment br
Page 22 and 23: Most, but not all of the response o
Page 24 and 25: Graph 21: Support by Market Segment
Page 28 and 29: Ways Downtown Pittsburgh Transit Ca

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