TRANSIT RALLY 1/28!

PLEASE JOIN US AS WE FIGHT THE UNNECESSARY 15% SERVICE REDUCTION APPROVED BY THE PORT AUTHORITY.

THESE CUTS WILL SHED 140 GOOD UNION JOBS, LEAVE 13,000 ALLEGHENY COUNTY CITIZENS WITHOUT SERVICE, AND PUT MORE STRAIN ON AN ALREADY STRUGGLING ECONOMY.

                                            WHERE

       345 6TH. AVE ACROSS FROM THE PORT AUTHORITY OFFICE

                                            WHEN

                   FRIDAY JANUARY 28TH 2011 8:30 AM

Bleeding Wound (re-posted)

Posted on January 12, 2011 on publictransit4pittsburgh

A cut is still a cut. No matter how big or small it is, a cut still bleeds. Right now, the public transit system in Pittsburgh is a bleeding wound. Despite the efforts by outgoing Governor Rendell to supply a band-aid to the Port Authority for this fiscal year and prevent our transit system from deteriorating even more, pressure from other elected officials, including County Executive Onorato, to stretch the supplemental funding over 18 months has made it that route cuts will still occur in March.

While many people may say to look at the positive aspects, that instead of a 35% cut we now only face a 15% cut, the result remains the same; The Pittsburgh public transit community is losing accessibility to our area. The only change to circumstances is that instead of ripping the bandage off quickly and inflicting the pain all at once, now we will have to the feel the pain slowly, each time the Port Authority continues to need to make more cuts and rips the band-aid off a little more.

According to County Executive Onorato, it was necessary to stretch the $45 million in band-aid funding  over 18 months as we could not expect our legislators in Harrisburg to find a transportation funding solution in the 6 months before the Port Authority’s fiscal year changes in July. Perhaps because he was running for Governor, Onorato fails to remember that the application to toll I-80 was denied a third time in April 2010 and the State legislature failed to take action throughout the remainder of the year. Thus the entire state transportation system has not had a secure source of funding since.

The bleeding wound that is Pittsburgh’s public transit system will not heal until our legislators put in the time needed and take action to fulfill the responsibilities of their positions as elected officials. The continuing cuts to the Port Authority are just the ramifications from the failure of Act 44. Use our links at the left to contact your legislators and tell them this issue needs to be a priority as they return to Harrisburg. Pittsburgh’s public transit community deserves action now! Subscribe to our blog or join our Facebook page to keep informed on the Port Authority and its effects on our community. Join us! Speak out! PublicTransit4Pittsburgh~Advocating for Access

Read more about the cuts approved today here:

Union opposes plan to extend transit bailout
Port Authority approves 15% transit cut

Check out today’s approved cuts on our PAT Changes page

BREAKING: Port Authority approves 15% transit cut, routes and jobs to be eliminated

From the Post Gazette today:
Port Authority approves 15% transit cut
By Jon Schmitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PDF
See the Port Authority's service changes that take effect March 27.

The Port Authority board of directors today approved a 15 percent transit service reduction effective March 27.

Board member Jeffrey Letwin said the decision caused him "intense anguish" but said the board's job was to "save what we can."

Today's vote amended a scheduled 35 percent cut that had been scheduled for March before Gov. Ed Rendell provided $45 million in emergency funding.

Under the revised plan, 29 routes will be eliminated instead of 47. Weekday service cuts will be imposed on 37 routes instead of 79. Service to about half of the authority's riders will be unchanged.

Today's action will eliminate 270 authority positions, including 180 layoffs and closure of the Harmar garage.

Patrick McMahon, president of Local 85 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, called the action "an unnecessary mistake."

He said the board should have maintained current service levels to force the legislature to solve statewide transportation funding problems sooner rather than later.

Board members, however, said doing so posed the risk of catastrophic cuts as soon as July if the legislature didn't act.
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.


First published on January 12, 2011 at 11:01 am