State funds might prevent transit cuts

The Port Authority of Allegheny County might be able to avoid the planned March service cuts,… The Port Authority of Allegheny County might be able to avoid the planned March service cuts, thanks to some $45 million Governor Ed Rendell was able to send to the transit authority.

The funds still require approval from the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission later this month. The commission is a 10-county body that has decision-making authority over transportation funds allocated to the region.

Representatives from the SPC could not be immediately reached for comment.

Jim Ritchie, spokesman for the Port Authority, said that the transit authority would consider the plan and would not act until the commission granted approval.

The money came from a federal economic development fund, for projects that either came in under budget or did not move forward, said Barry Ciccocioppo, a spokesman for the governor’s office.

Ciccocioppo said that Rendell intended the money to offset a more than $40 million budget gap in this year’s Port Authority budget. The money, he said, was a one-time solution for this year’s budget and would not help beyond 2011.

Ritchie said that the funds were “a temporary fix for Port Authority and would not resolve the State’s transportation funding crisis.”

It is not yet clear whether the state funds will immediately affect the planned fare increases or route cuts.

The Port Authority was the only transit authority in the state to receive funds, Ciccocioppo said.