Transit cuts approved
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People protesting cuts in public transit service gather on Wednesday along Sixth Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh as the Port Authority board meets across the street to vote on the cuts.
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With reluctance and flashes of anger, the Port Authority board on Wednesday approved the largest service cutbacks in the agency's history -- a 35 percent reduction on March 13 that will eliminate 47 routes, leave an estimated 15,000 riders with no service and cause more than 400 layoffs.
"We have been backed into a corner by inaction, apathy and a complete disregard for the greater good," said board member Joan Ellenbogen. "The powers that be have turned their backs on the people who depend on transit to live their very lives."
Authority officials and transit advocates who attended the meeting blamed the Legislature for failing to correct a transportation funding crisis that followed the collapse of the state's plan to impose tolls on Interstate 80.
That reduced the funding available for highways, bridges and transit by $472 million and meant a $27 million cut for the Port Authority. That and an assortment of rising costs opened a $47 million gap in the authority's current budget, forcing service cuts and a Jan. 1 fare increase.
"Today's a very dark day for Port Authority and all those who benefit from public transit in our region," CEO Steve Bland said.
Mr. Bland and Ms. Ellenbogen assailed critics who have blamed the authority for its financial woes.
"It's a ruse. It's a way for people to deflect attention from the real issue," Mr. Bland said.
"I am so tired of hearing the same old criticisms, that Port Authority is wasteful or that Port Authority is mismanaged," Ms. Ellenbogen said. "You may have been able to say that about the Port Authority of the past, but it is categorically untrue today. No transit agency in the region, the commonwealth or this country has done as much as Port Authority to rein in expenses and improve operational efficiency."
First Published November 25, 2010 12:00 am
