Two topics for today’s column: Earth Day and the possibility of service changes.

First off: Earth Day!  Tomorrow, Wednesday the 22, is Earth Day.  Everyone should go out and hug a tree.  Barring that, the Port Authority will have a presence at Pitt’s Earth Day festival, showcasing how to utilize the bike racks on the buses (need some info but can’t make it to the festival, check out Bike Pittsburgh’s page here, including video and information for buses, the T and the inclines).  PAT will also be downtown from 11 to 2 at Fifth Avenue Place, as part of Highmark’s festival.  Want more info about their Earth Day presence and their hybrid buses (six on the road now, more coming in the fall – I wish I knew what they looked like so I could comment on them), check out their press release.

The second, and more interesting issue of the day, is the possible service changes coming to the T in the south hills (and mentioned complete overhaul of the entire transit system).  Now, generally, I don’t worry about the T that much, seeing as it does me no good.  I know that I’ve mentioned this before, and it is kind of bothersome.  But I do realize that once the North Shore Connector (another rant for another day) is finished, it will be moderately more useful to me.  But anyway, it looks like some stops will be eliminated and the routes will be changed from numbers to colors.

Lots more after the break, check it out.

I like the idea of changing the number routes to colors.  It will make it easier for occasional riders of the T to quickly find the routes (or at least find which ones they should be looking at), but for more frequent riders of the T, I think that seeing how the numbers of those routes corespond with the bus routes is a benefit.  This is of course, dependent on if the numbers corespond well.  I’m going to assume that they do, knowing full well that sometimes what PAT does makes no sense.  At least to the riders.

Serivce changes are always scary.  When I first saw the report from the study, I didn’t like some of the recommendations being made for the routes that I take.  And of course, the hardest part is the uncertainty.  Once the ax falls, so to speak, all we can do is figure out how to get from A to B (may I once more suggest Google Maps as a far superior alternative to the PAT website).

The Post-Gazette article does makes this obscure reference:

Port Authority CEO Steve Bland said elimination of bus and rail stops is likely as part of the service overhaul that will be presented to the public over the next several months, starting with three “concepts” to be unveiled in the next week or two.

We’re never told anything more about the “concepts.”  So, during the next couple weeks, I could just engage in wild speculation (which, I will begin with my idea that PAT will provide giant lizards for commuters to ride to work).  I shouldn’t engage in wild speculation.  But I probably will.  And I’ll engage in some thoughtful speculation as well.