 Dear Friend, At the start of this decade, public hearings on proposed Port Authority fare and service changes were an annual event here in Allegheny County. Four hearings were held between December 2000 and November 2004, a time frame which also brought a 7 percent reduction in service and two fare increases that took the base fare to its current $1.75. So daunting are the financial challenges faced by Port Authority and other transit providers in Pennsylvania – skyrocketing healthcare, pension and fuel costs coupled with funding sources that have failed even to keep pace with inflation – that only Governor Ed Rendell’s initiative to transfer, or flex, federal highway funding to transit agencies across the state prevented similar hearings over the past two years. While the two years of additional influx of funding was welcomed and heralded by Port Authority and its customers, they were merely stop-gap measures that did not address the long-term funding issues facing Pennsylvania’s transit systems. Port Authority’s flex funding has now been exhausted. Despite the continuation of aggressive efforts to reduce costs in every Port Authority department, only the transfer of discretionary capital funds previously earmarked for bus procurement will enable us to balance our Fiscal Year 2007 budget. It was hardly surprising that the Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commission, in a report issued in November, declared our state’s public transportation systems "in crisis, both in terms of inadequate funding for operations, capital improvements and maintenance, as well as decaying physical conditions." We are encouraged by the work of the Commission, which has made recommendations for providing the dedicated, predictable and growing funds that are the most critical piece of a solution to the state’s transit crisis. But the Commission also emphasized the need for transit agencies to become more efficient, concluding that "no additional funding should be provided. . . unless a series of parallel actions are taken to reform funding structure and a number of transportation business practices." The Commission acknowledged that transit providers in Pennsylvania have taken numerous steps to improve their operational efficiency in recent years, but it also pointed out that additional opportunities exist to increase revenue and decrease costs – even though some "may be contrary to current local policies or historical approaches." Furthermore, the Commission report concluded that various opportunities also exist to reduce funding needs and that some "may not be looked upon favorably by the local communities that the transit agencies serve. However, tough management decisions must be made to optimize the existing transit systems and difficult policy decisions must be made regarding what service the local community is willing to financially support." While our elected officials work on funding solutions, we must move forward with right-sizing the Authority and its services. If we do nothing, Port Authority would face a projected budget deficit of about $75 million to $80 million in Fiscal Year 2008. Right now, we have no choice but to take the necessary measures to live within our means. That is why, in a series of eight public hearings between January 22 and February 7, we will be asking our customers to comment on a proposal to reduce service by 25 percent and two proposals to raise fares. The service changes are scheduled to be implemented in June 2007; a fare increase is scheduled to be implemented January 1, 2008. We understand that any reduction in service will make public transportation in Allegheny County less convenient, and that these proposed changes will have profound impacts on our customers. It is important to remember that Port Authority has done everything possible to minimize those impacts and that the service cuts may result in the layoff of hundreds of Port Authority employees. This proposal is the result of a thorough evaluation of our service, conducted with public input, and represents our best effort to preserve the ability of our customers to get where life takes them while still enabling the Authority to balance its budget. This is a painful process – for our customers and for our employees. We look forward to the day when we can engage the community in a discussion about how to add service to our public transportation system. It is my hope that the very public nature of this process will provide our region an opportunity to "think outside the box" about how we provide mobility for our residents. This will require new thinking, not just "more of the same." It is my hope that our riders, employees and the residents of Allegheny County will be active participants in that thought process. Sincerely,  Chief Executive Officer
Port Authority of Allegheny County |