Port Authority to Cut 45 Routes Due to State Funding Collapse
PORT AUTHORITY TO CUT 45 ROUTES = DUE TO COLLAPSE OF STATE FUNDING
Transit Board Approves Cuts, Fare = Increase and LayoffsPittsburgh, PA — Port Authority of = Allegheny County’s Board of Directors today approved the largest service = reduction in the transit agency’s history to offset the collapse of = Pennsylvania’s transportation funding mechanism.
About 45 routes will be eliminated in = March to help fill the revenue gap created by the state’s shortfall in = transportation funding. The service reduction will be paired with a fare = increase in January and the elimination of more than 500 Authority = jobs.”Eliminating 35 percent of our bus = and T service hours will have a devastating impact on the Pittsburgh = region,” said Port Authority CEO Steve Bland. “This disastrous = action is due to the collapse of Pennsylvania’s Act 44, which initiated = a statewide transportation funding crisis.
“While we continue to seek = potential solutions with our state leaders, we now fear the worst and = have to assume that they will not act in time to address this = issue.”In addition to the wholesale = eliminations, many more routes will lose trips and weekend service in = March. A complete list is available at www.portauthority.org.Port Authority receives funding through = Pennsylvania’s transportation funding law, called Act 44, each year – = along with every other public transit system in the state. However, this = year, the state is not providing the full amount of money, causing a = shortfall in Port Authority’s budget.
Act 44 was adopted in 2007 and intended = to help improve transportation funding for highway work, bridge repairs = and public transportation systems.
At the time, Gov. Ed Rendell called on = transit providers, like Port Authority, to find ways to cut costs and = set a statewide savings goal of $60 million. Port Authority – alone – = has cut $52 million in annual expenses in that time and generated $14 = million in new revenue.Including the upcoming job = eliminations, the Authority will have eliminated more than 1,000 = positions in that period.Riders can obtain more information = about the upcoming service reductions and fare increase at
www.portauthority.org or by calling Customer Service at 412-442-2000 = or the TTY number, 412-231-7007
