Getting Around: Transportation news riles people up, and they speak
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Nothing stirs the wrath of Pittsburghers more than transportation news articles like those of the past week, all "pocketbook issues." They included:
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Port Authority, facing a $32.5 million deficit, is looking to raise the base fare to $2.50, cut service by 24 percent and lay off employees because Harrisburg will no longer offer Band-Aid fixes after the Nov. 7 election.
The Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commission came to town for a public "listening session" that offered dozens of tax and fee hikes that people don't want to hear, along with a new one on me, a $1-a-week surcharge on 9 million driver's license holders.
Gasoline prices fell for the fifth straight week to around $2.49 a gallon for regular unleaded at some stations, causing me to wonder why I paid only $2.14 a gallon outside Cincinnati a week before. (Gas at the same Ohio station is now $2.05 .)
Readers were quick to vent. "Getting Around" is giving some a chance to sound off to the world.
Ed Gray, of Beechview: "Here we go. The annual extortion by the Port Authority! Give more money or we will cut the already lousy service. When will it run the monopoly like a business instead of a charitable organization, always begging for money?"
Dan Zunko, of Reserve: "Every time the Port Authority wants to save money, they cut service and raise fares. Then the buses don't run at the right times, so nobody rides and they cut more. They should cut the service to one bus per day and charge $234.87 to ride each way. That, or stop running 40-passenger buses every 20 minutes on Sunday when three people are on board."
Mike Semcheski, of Pittsburgh: "Recently, I was in Norway. Not only are their highways well-maintained and free of congestion, but they have excellent public transportation. Despite the fact they are an oil exporting nation, gas costs around $9 a gallon. This is no coincidence. A higher price for gasoline provides the incentive for people to drive less and reduces dependence on Middle East oil."
Carole Vogel, of Shaler: "There's entirely too much 'free' going on in society. I'm tired of working 10- to 12-hour days to support people who should be capable of helping to pay their share [for public transit]. Charging $1 for seniors and 50 cents for students will not bankrupt anyone. Maybe they should hire a woman to run the bus service. We live on a budget every day and know how to make ends meet."
Bruce Mountjoy, of Ingram: "I pay $36 a year to register my Nissan Sentra while a heavyweight SUV pays the same amount, although the SUV causes more wear on roads, uses more fuel and does more damage in the event of an accident. Wouldn't basing vehicle registration fees on gross weight be a possible way to increase funds for transit?"
Dan Gombos, of Pittsburgh: "We hear and talk about the annual funding shortfall for the Port Authority -- higher fares, reduced service, etc. Where will the money come from to maintain the new underwater [light-rail] tunnel now that it's a go?"
Richard Morgan, of Moon: "Privatize the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Toll I-80. Use machines, not workers, to collect tolls. Make state and transit workers assume a larger share of health costs. Revoke the Davis-Bacon Act, requiring payment of union wages for government contracts. Lower the share of gas taxes paid to maintain the state police."
Curt Gardner, of Marshall: "I was wondering how gas stations in the North Hills and other areas can justify charging 20 to 30 cents a gallon more than gas stations in Robinson or Peters? Some stations seem to be trying to hold onto their higher margins."
Thomas Josephi, of Mt. Lebanon: "Why haven't [House Transportation Chairman Rep. Rick Geist, R-Altoona] and the Senate committee Chairman [Sen. Roger Madigan, R-Bradford] released the bills in their committees that would create dedicated funding for public transit so they can come to the floor and be voted on? Then the Port Authority would no longer have to make these gloom-and-doom predictions of fare increases and service cuts."
Gerald Robbins, of Wexford: "Don't complain about the cost of energy. Be thankful that for-profit companies can supply it. I hate to think what the government would do if it were responsible. It would be ugly, not cost-efficient and prices would skyrocket. Just look at the costs of education and health care over the past 30 years."
Elsewhere. Gov. Ed Rendell and Amtrak announced last week the completion of a $145 million upgrade bringing 110 mph passenger rail service in the Keystone Corridor, cutting Harrisburg-to-Philadelphi travel timea to 90 minutes, a 30-minute improvement, starting Oct. 30.
Plate du jour. Janice Russell, of Lawrenceville, spotted the license plate 4MLDHYD outside a funeral home.
First Published September 17, 2006 12:00 am
