Secret Service utilizes Port Authority to shuttle G-20 police

When the G-20 planners needed to move hundreds of police officers throughout the city during the… When the G-20 planners needed to move hundreds of police officers throughout the city during the G-20 Summit, they turned to the Port Authority.

The Secret Service formed and directed a collaborative group of federal, state, county and local agencies to coordinate transportation throughout the G-20, with the Port Authority serving as one of its main contributors.

The numerous police officers who rode on the Port Authority buses were from other states.

Jim Ritchie, a spokesman for the Port Authority, declined to say how many officers the Port Authority’s buses transported, but he did say the company was able to handle the load with its normal number of bus drivers.

No agency paid the Port Authority to do this, but the company did incur expenses, Ritchie said.

He added that the Port Authority is tallying up the expenses and will report them to the event’s organizers. But Ritchie refused to comment further.

He also declined to say where the officers boarded the bus and where Port Authority took them, citing “security issues.”

The company withholds certain portions of its data and information whether G-20 related or otherwise, Ritchie said.

“Port Authority simply does not discuss certain aspects of security operations in general … Divulging specific details about security can put the public and our employees at risk with further events,” he said.

Daily riders questioned whether bus routes would continue as normal throughout the Summit. Ritchie said the Authority made arrangements to ensure public transportation riders would continue having service throughout the G-20.

Ritchie said it’s not unusual for the Port Authority to get involved in local affairs. He said the company provided transportation to out-of-town officers who came to Pittsburgh in April for the memorial of Paul Sciullo II, Eric Kelly and Stephen Mayhle — three city police officers who were killed while responding to a domestic disturbance call.

In the past, the Port Authority has transported people to prison after mass arrests, Ritchie said.

Also, when high schools in the vicinity of Pittsburgh are evacuated in emergency situations, the Port Authority assists the schools in sheltering students on their buses, Ritchie said.

He said the Port Authority should serve the community and that it takes that responsibility “very seriously.”