We must stop accepting mediocre public transit

I have put up with the Port Authority's abuses for many years during my daily commutes. I have had routes slashed, fares hiked and sat in disgusting conditions with no sign of improvement. The authority's awareness that I don't want to pay high gas prices and outrageous parking fees allows it to do this.

There is one problem: It counts on me having a job in order to pay its exorbitant prices to get Downtown. The flaw with this is that if the Port Authority continues to deliver me to work behind schedule, I will soon lose my job.

I did a random test of T rides to see how behind schedule we were every day at the Lytle station. Most days it was over the "four-minute acceptance" described on the Port Authority's website. There is a window of at least 12 minutes that I expect to be delivered to my T stop. For a fixed, light-rail system, there shouldn't be any window. Set a schedule and stick to it.

It's the public's lackadaisical acceptance of mediocrity that allows the Port Authority to get away with this. It has conditioned us to assume it is never going to be on time.

For the price I pay, I should get top-dollar service. I am done stuffing the pockets of the Port Authority and allowing service to continue to decline.

I understand that the Port Authority is struggling with its budget and apparently its schedule-keeping abilities. However, it needs to get its act together and prove to the public and to the state that it can take care of its patrons in order to keep receiving remuneration. I'm at the point where I'd rather walk to work than give it another dime.

AIDA

N MEWHA
Bethel Park