Vegan Potato Salad by Liz Fetchin
Source: Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT)

GREEN TRANSPORTATION

Public Transit Is a Climate Solution

By Ryan Warsing

Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) Director of Sustainability

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June 10, 2025

PRT is accepting public comments on its proposed service cuts through Wednesday, June 18, 2025. 

Click here to share what well-funded public transit means to you.

Public transit doesn’t just deliver people to work, school, and medical appointments. It also delivers cleaner air, fewer emissions, and stronger communities. In Allegheny County and across Pennsylvania, we’re on the verge of letting that progress slip away. 

Public transit is one of the most effective tools we have to fight pollution and build more sustainable communities. Yet right now, it’s in jeopardy.

Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) is preparing for deep cuts in service and fare increases, and agencies across the state face similar crises. If funding falls short, the environmental costs won’t be abstract, they’ll show up in the air we breathe, the health of our neighborhoods, and the climate we leave to future generations. 

Annual Pollution by Source in Allegheny County

Criteria and precursor pollution includes ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and lead. It does not include carbon dioxide. (Source: Allegheny County, 2022)

Let’s be honest: Pennsylvania’s environmental report card is already grim. We rank in the bottom tier for air and water quality. In Allegheny County, decades of industrial legacy have left lasting impacts. Despite recent progress, our region still earns failing grades from the American Lung Association for ozone pollution and ranks among the nation’s worst for cancer risk from air toxics.

Public transit helps push back against this.

Every year, PRT alone keeps nearly 700 metric tons of harmful local pollutants – like nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and fine particulates – out of the air.

These are the pollutants tied directly to asthma, heart disease, and premature death. Add in greenhouse gas emissions, and PRT helps avoid nearly 30,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. That’s like taking more 6,000 cars off the road without asking anyone to give up driving entirely. And that’s the point.

Downtown AM travel times: current service - PRT
Downtown AM travel times: current service

Transit offers real climate action without demanding big personal sacrifices. But when service gets cut, so do those environmental benefits. 

The math is simple: A single 40-foot bus can carry up to 45 passengers while using about the same road space as three cars.

If everyone on that bus drove instead, the number of vehicles on the road would multiply – as would the emissions, gridlock, and demand for parking. And pollution would become even more concentrated in already-vulnerable neighborhoods. 

In Allegheny County, that means more exposure in frontline communities – often home to Black, brown, and immigrant residents who already bear the brunt of environmental harms. Nationally, Asian Americans are exposed to 56% more particulate pollution than white Americans; Black Americans, 44% more. A rollback in transit would deepen these disparities and undercut efforts toward environmental justice. 

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Ryan Warsing
Ryan WarsingPRT Director of Sustainability
Ryan is the Director of Sustainability at Pittsburgh Regional Transit, where he coordinates the adoption of pollution-free vehicles, renewable electricity, energy efficiency, and waste reduction. Ryan previously worked for the Rocky Mountain Institute, where he helped cities across the country advance sustainable projects.