Equitable Transit Funding

Pittsburghers for Public Transit understands that we need more public funding to provide adequate transit service to all communities. Almost all of the current funding comes from individuals who are paying taxes, user fees, and fares. However, the major corporations and institutions that benefit directly from the transit system are not contributing to it.  The following one-pager and white paper below lays out how corporations need to start paying their fare share.

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Tax on Corporate Profits

A tax on corporate profits would require large businesses and corporations in Allegheny County to pay into the transit system they rely on to transport their workers, clients, and customers. A modest tax on profits earned in Allegheny County would vastly improve transit infrastructure and service.

Transit Impact Fee

A transit impact fee is a one-time fee imposed on a new development to address the projected impact it will create on the transit system. The fee is to be paid for by the developer. It can apply to non-residential developments and large residential projects that will increase transit demand in that area. Demand can apply to frequency, accessibility, and/or service extensions.

San Francisco has pioneered the use of social impact fees to help create an equitable funding stream and to curb the burden of rapid growth on public infrastructure and services. The local government has created a Transit Impact Development Fee that ” addresses the impact created by non-residential uses on the transit system”.

Employer Tax

An employer tax kind is a tax that is paid from the employer‘s own funds and that is directly related to employing a worker. These can consist of fixed charges or be proportionally linked to an employee’s pay.

Transit Passes for Employees

In Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University buy transit passes for their employees. More institutions and corporations could support our public transit system and their employees through providing passes as a perk of employment.

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