Port Authority will likely cut service despite grant

The $22-million federal grant to the Pittsburgh Port Authority will not affect the looming bus… The $22-million federal grant to the Pittsburgh Port Authority will not affect the looming bus service cuts.

The Pittsburgh Port Authority was one of about 400 programs that applied for the federal grant program. Only 152 were selected, and six transit programs in Pennsylvania were among the programs chosen. The Port Authority announced its reception of the grant on Monday.

The Department of Transportation designated the money solely for the purchase of new buses. Jim Richie — spokesman for the Port Authority — said that the money will go toward the purchase of more than 50 new buses, but will not affect the coming service cuts.

The grant won’t help with the service cuts, Richie said, because it goes toward the capital budget. The capital budget is “legally separate” from the day-to-day operating budget, which has the $47-million hole.

Richie said the capital budget can only go toward infrastructure projects like repaving the busways, repairing tracks and — as in this case — buying new buses.

Money for the capital budget often comes from state and federal sources, which he said will often specify what the money has to be spent on.

Paul Griffo — spokesman for the Federal Transit Administration — said in an e-mail that the $22-million grant would go exclusively to replace old transit buses.

The Port Authority tries to replace 10 percent of its 800-count bus fleet each year. Richie said the grant will help the company make that annual purchase.

He said that, in the long run, buying buses can help day-to-day operating costs go down. Newer buses break down less often and are cheaper to maintain, he said. The Port Authority plans to replace 53 buses this year, although Richie was not certain that the grant would apply for this year’s purchase.

Legislature funding for the Port Authority went down by $27 million this year, contributing to problems in the transit authority’s budget.

The Port Authority will cut almost a third of its service in March 2011 — pushed back from January — in order to cover a $47-million deficit in its operating budget. The board of the Port Authority also announced plans to reduce service in about 50 of the neighborhoods it currently covers.

The board also plans to lay off about 500 members of its workforce of nearly 3,000.

The Federal Transit Administration gave the grant as part of its State of Good Repair grant program. The administration designed the program to help transit authorities across the country with infrastructure improvements, according to the Department of Transportation’s website.