LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

I’m writing in response to the editorial published in the Jan. 4 issue of The Pitt News…. I’m writing in response to the editorial published in the Jan. 4 issue of The Pitt News. While I sympathize with what you make out to be the plight of the Pittsburgh public transport user, I think that you’re glossing over the true issue at hand.

The Port Authority needs these cuts and price hikes to survive. If they do not drastically change the way they operate these bus routes, they’ll be facing a multi-million dollar deficit in the next fiscal year, which basically means there wouldn’t be a Port Authority at all. The state of Pennsylvania has mandated a major change in the system, refusing to give them any more funding unless they “trim the fat” as it were and revamp the system to fit the city’s current transport needs.

Sure, this requires some reductions and route cuts, but it’s not like the entire bus system is going to disappear. Instead, there will simply be fewer buses throughout the day, so that there aren’t full-size express shuttles running the whole way to McKeesport or Mount Washington with only five people on them. Personally, I think Dan Onorato and Steve Bland should be appreciated for finally having the guts to stand up and change a system which has been experiencing deficits and inefficiency for the last 20 years.

These changes are absolutely necessary, and the people of Pittsburgh have to realize that these changes are a good thing, not bad. Think about it: Would you rather have to wait a little bit longer and pay a bit more to ride on a bus or not have any buses at all?

Richard Brown rab53@pitt.edu