More Port Authority transit cuts ahead
Share with others:
Venerable bus routes serving Mt. Lebanon, Coraopolis, Green Tree, Mount Washington, Oakmont, Edgewood and Sewickley will be among 46 routes eliminated by the Port Authority in September if there is no solution to a statewide transportation funding crisis.
Riders who aren't stranded will pay more -- the authority plans a 25-cent increase in the base Zone 1 fare, to $2.50, on July 1. Zone 2 rides will go up 50 cents, to $3.75. It will be the fourth fare increase in the past 4 1/2 years. The last was in January 2011.
As part of a 35 percent reduction in service hours that would take effect Sept. 2 -- the largest cut in the agency's 48-year history -- all of the authority's current 102 bus and rail routes would be scaled back, some ending altogether and others with deep drops in off-peak and weekend service, according to a summary released by the authority.
On all but 13 routes, service would terminate at or around 10 p.m. daily. Weekend service would be eliminated on the Blue Line of the Light Rail Transit system.
All routes will end service at approximately 10 p.m. except for the following: 8 Perrysville, 16 Brighton, 27 Fairywood, 51 Carrick, 61B Braddock, 71A Negley, 71D Hamilton, 82 Lincoln, 86 Liberty, 91 Butler Street, G2 West Busway, P1 East Busway, Red Line
The reduction, coupled with a 15 percent service cut last March, would leave the region's biggest transit agency with barely half of the service it offered a year ago.
An estimated 500 to 600 jobs could be eliminated, with most of that achieved through layoffs, authority CEO Steve Bland said.
"If we have to go through with these reductions, my feeling is it's the beginning of the end of public transit as a significant carrier in the region," he said.
"It's absolutely not a scare tactic," he said of the proposal being unveiled today. "The folks who use the routes we eliminated in March know how real it is. It's as serious as a heart attack."
The authority is facing a projected $64 million deficit in its 2012-13 operating budget, which takes effect in July. Flat or declining aid from the state and Allegheny County in recent years, coupled with soaring costs of retirement benefits and fuel, have pushed the agency to the brink of insolvency.
According to the agency's most recent audit, state operating assistance decreased by $34.2 million in the fiscal year that ended last June 30, a 19 percent drop. State aid makes up more than half of the authority's income.
The main hope for avoiding the next round of cuts rests in Harrisburg, where neither Gov. Tom Corbett nor the Legislature has acted on a panel's recommendations to raise new revenue for the state's crumbling roads, bridges and transit systems.
Mr. Corbett is expected to address the issue either in his 2012-13 budget address on Feb. 7 or before that. Legislative leaders from both parties have called for action on transportation funding but said the governor's support will be needed to pass anything.
The Port Authority also faces contract talks with the union representing drivers, mechanics and first-level supervisors. The main contract with Local 85 of the Amalgamated Transit Union expires June 30, and the agency is expected to push for significant concessions.
The transit cut and fare proposal will be discussed at a meeting of the Port Authority's planning and development committee this morning. Public comment will be accepted from Feb. 5 to March 9, and an all-day public hearing will be held Feb. 29 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
Mr. Bland said it is possible to reverse the service cut if the governor and the Legislature act by late July or early August. Once the reduction has taken effect, "it isn't really reversible. You just don't get the ridership back," he said.
The fare increase is likely to occur even if the state provides more money, he said.
The cost of weekly, monthly and annual passes will rise along with the cash fares. Monthly and annual pass purchasers will get a slight discount. Transfers will continue to cost $1.
Express service to the suburbs was heavily targeted in the reduction plan. To be eliminated are the G3 Moon Flyer, G31 Bridgeville Flyer, O5 Thompson Run Flyer, P10 Allegheny Valley Flyer, P12 Holiday Park Flyer, P13 Mount Royal Flyer, P16 Penn Hills Flyer, P17 Lincoln Park Flyer, P67 Monroeville Flyer, P68 Braddock Hills Flyer, P69 Trafford Flyer, P71 Swisshelm Park-Rankin Flyer, P76 Lincoln Highway Flyer, P78 Oakmont Flyer and Y45 Baldwin Manor Flyer.
The 28X Airport Flyer might terminate outbound service at Robinson Town Centre (eliminating the leg to Pittsburgh International Airport), depending on whether a federal grant designed to improve access to jobs is renewed, Mr. Bland said.
Express routes were targeted because they are the most expensive for the authority to operate and because their riders typically have other options. "They tend to use park-and-ride and can drive farther, or drive into the city, in contrast with the person who is completely dependent on public transit," he said.
Cost recovery on longer, more expensive routes was also a factor in deciding to raise Zone 2 fares twice as much as those in Zone 1, he said.
According to the authority, 100 municipalities or neighborhoods will lose all transit service if the reductions are implemented. Among them are Braddock Hills, East Hills, Edgeworth, Elizabeth, Fineview, Forest Hills, Holiday Park, Manchester, Moon, North Fayette, North Versailles, Trafford, Turtle Creek, Verona and Wilmerding.
Service also would be discontinued to the Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin; Boyce campus of Community College of Allegheny County; Brinton Towers senior housing complex in Braddock Hills; Olympia Shopping Center in McKeesport; Parkway Center Mall in Banksville; and the VA Medical Center on Highland Drive in Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar.
The authority board is scheduled to vote April 27 to finalize the service reduction plan and fare increases. The board took a similar vote in November 2010, authorizing a 35 percent cut in service hours, but then-Gov. Ed Rendell came up with $45 million in emergency aid the following month. As a result, the authority was able to temporarily make ends meet with the 15 percent service reduction last March.
That stranded thousands of riders and forced others onto overcrowded buses. Despite adjustments, it is still common for buses to pass up waiting riders because there is no room for them.
First Published January 18, 2012 12:00 am
