Editorial: State aid essential to Port Authority’s survival

For many Pitt students, a regular Port Authority bus is the primary means of transit between… For many Pitt students, a regular Port Authority bus is the primary means of transit between home and campus. But starting Sept. 2, University shuttles like SafeRider may become the only viable option for commuting to certain locations at night.

Last Wednesday, the Port Authority unveiled a series of reductions that would further inconvenience our already underserviced region. These reductions include eliminating 46 bus routes, stopping the 28X at the Robinson Town Centre (short of Pittsburgh International Airport) and, most egregiously, halting all but 13 routes (including the 61B, 71A and 71D) after 10 p.m.

While we’d like to reassure students that other services will compensate for these losses, the current alternatives are far from ideal. From Monday to Thursday, Zipcar charges an hourly rate of $9.75, and from Friday to Sunday, $10.75 — a far cry from the unlimited bus service we pay for with our annual $180 security, safety and transportation fee. And although taxis are just a phone call away, most charge hefty rates.

Unsurprisingly, the Authority blames deficient state funding for the $64 million budget deficit that prompted these cuts. And for what it’s worth, there’s some truth to this: The agency’s most recent audit revealed a $34.2 million decline in state operating assistance during the last fiscal year. Nonetheless, Gov. Tom Corbett’s spokesman assured the Post-Gazette that “The Port Authority’s problems were created locally, and they should be solved locally.”

Regardless of who’s to blame for the deficit, we believe increased state funding is paramount. Public transportation is essential to many city dwellers — particularly students and low-income residents — and imparts incalculable social, environmental and economic benefits (the Authority itself stands to lose an estimated 500-600 workers if the proposed reductions are implemented).

We urge Gov. Corbett to join other legislators — like state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Pittsburgh, who advocates raising money from Pennsylvania Turnpike revenues — in promoting increased transportation funding. Staunch fiscal support has salvaged countless institutions from the brink of collapse.

Incidentally, this is not the first time the Port Authority has considered near-fatal cutbacks. Two Novembers ago, anticipating similarly inadequate state support, the Board authorized a 35 percent reduction in service hours. The following month, however, Gov. Ed Rendell intervened with a $45 million emergency aid package. Though the funds hardly revitalized the service, they proved crucial to its survival.

We won’t delude ourselves into thinking the Port Authority will completely rebound, even if legislators double its funding. Clearly, the service suffers from longstanding problems that cannot be redressed through monetary support alone. But the vitality of our city — indeed, our entire county — depends in part on a sound transportation infrastructure. And for that reason alone, government inaction is unacceptable.