Port Authority riders struggling with revised routes as drivers remain out of work

PITTSBURGH — The struggle is real for many people who rely on the Port Authority.

Ashanti Robinson is a senior at Passport High School in downtown Pittsburgh. What normally would take about 20 minutes for her bus to show up in the morning in Homestead is now almost a two hour wait,

Robinson says she’s missing class because of this.

“We’ve had to wait till like 11:30 for a bus,” Robinson said.

It’s not just students like Robinson that aren’t in school on time. She said it’s also teachers she’s says.

“We’ve had the principal come in as a teacher because there’s no one in our class,” Robinson said.

For Verna Johnson, whose sole form of transportation is the bus, overcrowded buses she can’t get on, and frequency of when they’re coming these days means she’s had to rely on a ride share company. A service that covers the cost of the ride if it’s for a doctors appointment but *not to the grocery store.

Verna said, “If you have to pay just to go to the  supermarket or go somewhere down the street it’s a round-trip so you got a pay round-trip.”

There was some positive news today after speaking with the Port Authority. They told us 140 employees have returned and many are expected to return over the next week or two. 340 though, still remain out of work , half of whom are drivers. F

For Kierran Young, who is a daily PAT bus rider, this whole situation is unacceptable.

Kierran sais “It’s time to get back to normal. I really do think it’s unfair to the bus drivers for them to bully them into getting a vaccine that they don’t want when they didn’t get a pay raise or any bonuses but they were told that they were essential.”

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