Letter to the editor: Pittsburgh needs commuter rail line

When I visited Pittsburgh this summer I was very impressed with its public transportation network, Pittsburgh Regional Transit. However, I feel as though it is missing a key element: a commuter rail line. Said commuter rail line should replace the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway and run all the way from Swissvale to Penn Station.

Bus rapid transit is a good concept, but it is inefficient and ineffective. A bus can only hold so many passengers regardless of whether it is an articulated bus with standing room or not and regardless of how frequently it runs. Hence, it is time to revolutionize Pittsburgh by building an electric commuter rail line between Swissvale and Union Station to take the place of the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway and the buses that run along it. Hell, maybe it could be called the MLK Train.

Anyway, please sign the petition at change.org/Pittsburgh_Commuter_Rail to make this dream a reality for the city of Pittsburgh. If building a light rail line to the Pittsburgh International Airport isn’t an option, this is the next best thing that the city can do. https://www.change.org/Pittsburgh_Commuter_Rail.

Dante Medori

Jenkintown