Nights, weekends crucial for bus service

The Pittsburgh Port Authority is about to make a colossal mistake.

In a meeting… The Pittsburgh Port Authority is about to make a colossal mistake.

In a meeting Friday, Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Paul Skoutelas announced PAT might have to resort to eliminating weekday service after 7 p.m. and all weekend services to address budget shortfalls.

Because of decreased ridership and smaller state and county subsidies, PAT anticipates a $14 million revenue shortfall for the 2003-2004 year. The state budget reduces the subsidy by $4 million, and the county subsidy, which is figured based upon the state one, is reduced by $1.3 million.

There must be a better way around these budget woes. It’s simply bad business to require one’s clients to depend upon the competition, which is exactly what this move will do.

More people will be forced to drive. This will exacerbate Pittsburgh’s heinous parking situation and the increased traffic may even further destroy our roadways, leading to ever more construction.

Drunk driving will spike. Nighttime revelers will be forced to drive home after a night out, rather than safely and responsibly letting PAT do the driving.

The taxi situation in Pittsburgh is laughable; it’s not even an option. We can’t hail cabs in the city, and it can be next to impossible to call one out.

Without nighttime transportation, there is the possibility of increased assault. People finding themselves without transportation may attempt to walk a distance that, perhaps in daylight with companions, is quite feasible, but not so alone at night.

Not only will these cuts eliminate 300 PAT jobs, other city workers will suffer. White-collar jobs are typically 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. These employees are the ones who can afford cars. Lower income jobs, like third shift work or service industry work, not only occur outside the possible new PAT hours, but don’t generally pay enough to finance a car. What are these workers supposed to do?

Without adequate public transportation, the city’s culture will wither. PAT preserves crucial neighborhood integrity in this decidedly not pedestrian-friendly city.

There are other options. Cut service in and around the suburbs, where more people have cars. Take out loans. Even the dreaded alcohol tax would be better than losing night and weekend bus service.

Pitt could offer a helping hand. If these cuts are instituted, students will rarely be able to take advantage of their free rides, thus rendering our transportation fee completely useless. PAT makes about forty cents from each student ride, far less than the $1.75 the general ridership pays. Why not increase our contribution? In the big picture of tuition dollars, it wouldn’t make that much of a difference, but losing service certainly would.

Visit http://sites.states.pa.us/PA_Exec/Governor/govmail.html and tell Rendell the city of Pittsburgh is in dire straits and must preserve night and weekend bus service.