Damn'it..... You Board Last When Paying in Cash (Pittsburgh, Progress: restaurants, floor)

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

This post is loaded with stereotypes. The "old Pittsburgh" is what made the US what it is today. Pittsburghs corporate presence pales in comparison to what It once was. It took many educated and smart locals to run the 3rd largest fortune 500 corporate base. CMU, Pitt, and Duquesne have been good schools for generatioms thanks to Pittsburgh natives. The east end of Pittsburgh was progressive before there was such a thing. Actually the East End today is far less wealthy today than in the past. East End affluence is nothing new. Show me any city in the US without a "Yinzer"and Ill show you a liar.

It takes all kinds to make a successful city. Obviously, individual people won't feel an affinity with all such groups, and that's okay, but self-imposed barriers reinforced by hackneyed stereotypes are not. We can all learn a thing or two from our "others." While I'm pretty far from being a "Yinzer," I've still had quite a few enriching conversations with them. All it takes is a willingness to sit down, ask a few questions, and listen.

[gg]

Originally Posted by ditchdigger

Having read what you just posted, you can call me a Yinzer any time you want to, and I'll accept it as an affirmation of our sameness, and our equality. Coming from some other sources hereabouts though, I'll still find it pejorative, epithetical, and yes, a slur. (Even if I don't believe it's in reference to me personally.)

This is well stated. Also, trying to label any group of people is pretty darn tough. Most of the time labeling is done out of laziness and prejudice. Someone asked what political party are yinzers and the answer is clearly BOTH, depending on the person you are trying to pigeonhole.

This thread really has gone off track, but name calling is always a way of derailing a topic. The OP has a point, but was clearly poorly stated. It reeked of self-centeredness, stating why do I need to put up with those people paying cash. On top of that stating "Yinzers have no where to go". A better topic would be, "Could Pittsburgh get rid of the use of cash on public transit to speed the boarding process?"

This is a pretty depressing thread. I think people should be more tolerant of others.

[cooky01]

It's been a while since I worked downtown.
We didn't have a problem w/ cash paying riders because the ticket/pass holders could just board, while the cash riders struggled w/ the machine.
So it was sort of like an unintentional EZ-Pass system, which IMHO worked rather well.

Remind me again why PAT switched from ticket/pass to electronic system?
So that people can keep adding fare to the same card w/o having to buy tickets?

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by cooky01

It's been a while since I worked downtown.
We didn't have a problem w/ cash paying riders because the ticket/pass holders could just board, while the cash riders struggled w/ the machine.
So it was sort of like an unintentional EZ-Pass system, which IMHO worked rather well.

Remind me again why PAT switched from ticket/pass to electronic system?
So that people can keep adding fare to the same card w/o having to buy tickets?

ConnectCard.org - FAQs
"...(T)he ConnectCard system's sophisticated technology reduces fare evasion, which costs the Port Authority thousands of dollars in revenue each year...."

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Oh, thanks for the countless reps on my post before this one. That might be a record number for me on one post.

I hate it when I agree with you, but you're welcome.

[ditchdigger]

Originally Posted by jay5835

I hate it when I agree with you, but you're welcome.

I hate to agree with Curtis too.

Originally Posted by h_curtis

This is well stated.

Damn. He got me to do it again...

[cooky01]

Originally Posted by doo dah

ConnectCard.org - FAQs
"...(T)he ConnectCard system's sophisticated technology reduces fare evasion, which costs the Port Authority thousands of dollars in revenue each year...."

Then PAT should have the vendor program the machine to take cash & ConnectCards at the same time to speed things up.

[tclifton]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

You apparently don't know what a yinzer is. Most ALL I know are very hard working folks that also play hard at night. They would run circles around Blackbeauty and most likely yourself. They aren't delivery folks very often, but you will find them in the plumbing, electrical and other physical jobs. They are tough and have a code. Sure there are examples of some lazy ones, but to be honest, I don't know many if any. Most work their tails off. Guess when it comes to Pittsburgh, I have been around here much longer than you and blackbeauty. You folks almost sound like you have never been to Pittsburgh and are inquiring.

It sure is evident that a minority (blackbeauty) and another minority (SCR) love to find a group to label and have a prejudice against. Talk about bigotry! It would be interesting if someone called one of you two a derogatory name of your minority group and see how you feel about it. Sure is an interesting read though. I suspect if someone called either of you such a word, they would be banned. Seems yinzers don't get the same courtesy. That term and be thrown around as much as you two love I guess. Shows your character though. Labeling a group and calling them lazy. Interesting indeed.

Wow, I'm not sure I've agreed with you a lot before (esp. re: bikes, etc.), but this is right on. While reading SCR's simplistic diatribe, all I could think of is how ironic that someone who most likely has been defined by others based on his orientation is so quick to place people into neat tidy boxes that he's built.

Based on my responses in this thread, he would place me in the "Yinzer" box, but while I wouldn't be ashamed of that, I don't fit that stereotype at all. (any more that I suspect he would fit into a typical gay stereotype).

As for the original post, I'm *still* waiting for an answer to this (since BlackBeauty suggested that the cash paying folks board last):

I'm standing at a bus stop, along with 25 other folks.
Do we start a poll before the bus comes to find out who's paying with cash and who isn't? (and ask everyone as they wander over if they have cash or not?)
Otherwise, how will we know the order that we're to get on the bus?

[Pitt Chick]

Yeah, I asked that in post #9 about a week ago.
The question is being ignored, eh?

[SteelCityRising]

The "Yinzers" and "Progressives" of Pittsburgh both have positive and negative qualities. I listed both. The "Yinzers" are generally slow to adopt new technology, are resistant to change, and tend to get in the way in what is evolving into a more and more fast-paced city each and every year. The people who couldn't figure out how to put cash into the farebox, thereby making BlackBeauty's bus late, were indeed probably the same "Yinzers" I had to endure while working at PNC who were "afraid" of the ATM---a machine which has been around for decades. At the same time I'd rather have a conversation with a "Yinzer" any day over a "Progressive" because the former has enough respect for me as a person that they won't stop to check their Instagram feed or Tweet a selfie midway into our conversation due to their limited attention span and unabashed self-absorbed attitudes. The former will have more interesting stories to tell and will actually stop to help you if you are in distress by the side of the road instead of just posting a picture of your precarious situation to Facebook. The former helped to create the thriving city that we all call home today.

The "Progressives" largely draw my scorn even more than "Yinzers" because while they know how to keep up with the dynamics of society most (not all) think they have all the answers, yet when they are pressed on issues quickly reveal how shallow and limited their knowledge of, well, pretty much everything truly is. I have met so many condescending academics from CMU, for example, who think they are the reason we're inching closer to Utopia, thereby necessitating constant adoration and accolade, while they have no clue how to cross a street, much less change a flat tire. All "fluff" but no substance, if you will. The "Progressives" can debate a political topic into oblivion to prove that they are right and you are wrong while not realizing that part of being a true "liberal" is being willing to be tolerant of a broad spectrum of divergent perspectives on issues.

In my vocabulary, right or wrong:

"Progressive" = Undeservedly Pompous
"Yinzer" = Always Struggling to Keep Up

P.S. I don't care if people also roughly label me into a similar "box" due to my homosexuality, to debunk those above who proclaim I wouldn't appreciate others trying to group me together. Let's face it. Most people in society DO more or less fall into rough categorical "boxes", despite what the uber-politically correct crowd would lead you to believe. I may not obsess over Lady Gaga (my partner does), but I do drool over HGTV (my partner does not). While I don't currently live up to the promiscuous stereotype of the gay community, I DID have a "loose" phase of my life back in Northern Virginia where I tried to hump anything with a pulse. I dress as fashionably and trendily as I can, given a relatively meager attire allowance within my discretionary spending budget. My partner loves the "drag" scene. I do not. I love the theater more than my partner. Neither of us are particular "neat freaks", contrary to the stereotype, but I know at least one other gay member on here certainly is. I do roughly fit into the "gay stereotype", and I don't necessarily take that to be derogatory the way some of you are so offended to be labeled. Everyone labels everyone else to a certain extent---it's a part of being human. Those "progressives" who claim they are color-blind, race-blind, religious-blind, sexuality-blind, yada, yada, yada are deluding themselves.