Young People Affecting Way Transit Agencies Respond To Customers

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pitt grad student Anna Weber hops on the 71D Hamilton bus, representing a generation that is riding public transit for convenience during college, but may consider it more beyond college.

"It's convenient," she says. "It lets me off near my house. It goes to campus where I need to go. I don't have a car, so it works out well for me."

A recent study by the Texas A&M Transit Institute, as published by Smartasset.com, found that ridership in general was up nine percent since 2011 in 136 cities.

Pittsburgh is listed in the top 10 transit agencies. The criteria include commute times, the percentage of population using transit and the relative income of transit users to the general population.

Here's the top 10 result:
Texas A&M Transit Institute
Top Cities for Public Transportation

1. Washington, DC
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Boston, MA
4. Chicago, IL
5. New York, NY
6. Seattle, WA
7. Jersey City, NJ
8. Pittsburgh, PA
9. Philadelphia, PA
10. Oakland, CA

The Port Authority is considering streamlining their fare structure, rewarding riders who use Connect Cards in lieu of cash; and that is a function of a generation that grew up with a lot more technology than their elders.

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"You have a lot of young people moving into or staying in the Pittsburgh region and Allegheny County, moving into neighborhoods like Lawrenceville and Uptown," said the Port Authority's Jim Ritchie. "And they're staying here. They want a robust transit system and they want to use technology. They want to use smart cards. They want real-time information and they can't get it fast enough."