Port Authority plans record service cutbacks
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With hopes fading for a state financial rescue, a Port Authority committee today is expected to move ahead with plans for record service cuts and layoffs effective March 13.
But that likely won't be the end of the cutting. Discussions already are under way about a second major round of cuts next July as the agency continues to struggle with chronic budget deficits caused by rising costs and insufficient state aid.
The 35 percent reduction in March would fully eliminate about 48 routes, end all weekend service on 13 others and cause across-the-board cuts in service on the routes that remain. Some 555 of the authority's 2,755 employees are expected to be laid off.
"We're now into the mode of looking at next year's budget and having to cut service further," spokesman Jim Ritchie said. "It's likely that we would have to move ahead with a proposal to reduce service again."
The authority's planning and development committee, meeting today, is expected to approve the March cuts, with a vote by the full board scheduled next Wednesday.
New schedules reflecting the service reductions are likely to be available online by the end of December, Mr. Ritchie said. A chart showing general information about the cuts, including which routes would have all service or weekend service eliminated, is currently available at www.portauthority.org.
The authority faces a $47 million projected shortfall in the current 2010-11 budget. About $27 million of that is attributable to a cut in state funding caused by the federal government's rejection of the state's plan to make Interstate 80 a toll road.
Officials had hoped the state would step in with more funding, but the Legislature has not acted. With the state facing a multibillion-dollar deficit next year and Gov.-elect Tom Corbett preaching fiscal conservatism, the authority's leadership has all but abandoned hope of avoiding the March cuts.
The authority also is planning a Jan. 1 fare increase. The base Zone 1 fare will rise by 25 cents, to $2.25. The Zone 2 fare will go up 50 cents, to $3.25, and the cost of a transfer will rise 25 cents, to $1. Prices for passes and tickets also will go up.
First Published November 17, 2010 12:00 am
