Published Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012
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The Port Authority of Pittsburgh is currently proposing a 35 percent service reduction, effective in September, should it not receive adequate state funding to support the cost of continued service. Other service changes would include a fare raise in July and reduced service for all remaining bus and light-rail routes.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett presented the state budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year yesterday. Details of this and how it will affect these proposed Port Authority service cuts will be featured in next week's issue of The Globe.
Situated in the hub of Downtown's transportation routes, Point Park University will not directly feel the effects of these changes, but students and faculty traveling from nearby neighborhoods to the university will inevitably be forced to adjust their routine commute should the changes and cuts occur.
Additionally, resident students who frequently use Port Authority transit to part-time jobs or other activities in surrounding neighborhoods will be equally impacted, said Sarah George, director of commuter of affairs at Point Park. She believed the hardest adjustment will be for students who work on the weekend or live out of town.
"It would be really annoying," Meghan Higgins, a senior psychology major and resident at Point Park, said Monday night in the Point Cafe. "I work in Oakland, and I'm pressed for time as it is."
One such proposed cut is the elimination of service on Saturdays and Sundays for buses traveling to Ross Park Mall, as well as a reduction of service on the 28X Airport Flyer.
"They are looking at service reductions and potential elimination [of 28X] beyond Robinson Towne Center for weekday, Saturday and Sunday," George said in her office last Thursday. "We have many students who are not from here, who go to the airport, whether it's for spring break or another weekend away, and they would certainly have to look into other sources of transportation."
Additionally, George is concerned for the parking problem to increase in Pittsburgh should these routes be reduced.
"An example that I heard, if you look at a bus, say there are 40 people on the bus. Imagine that all 40 people are capable of driving and have a car – that's 40 more cars for that one bus that's trying to get Downtown, so traffic is going to be worse, rush hour is going to be worse, parking is going to be worse," George said. "It is larger than just who rides the bus. This bus on the Boulevard is usually full by 7:30; that's going to be full much earlier. … It's definitely going to impact our students, but we're not the only ones affected. How many other major businesses are in Downtown – PNC, BNY Mellon – all have people from the suburbs coming into the core. They need to get here; they need somewhere to park."
Gabriella Corcos, a freshman dance major who has had her route reduced in the past, had to adjust to a slower schedule of only two buses an hour at her stop.
"It's really upsetting that they're always looking to cut routes first," she said Monday in the Lawrence Hall lobby. "It's especially upsetting because our Port Authority isn't the greatest to begin with."
George said the only way for the situation to be resolved is for students and Pittsburgh transit users to tell Corbett of their concerns for the city's transportation should funding not be provided for the Port Authority. George encouraged all members of the Point Park community to send a message to Corbett via www.keeppghmoving.com, saying how these service cuts would affect them.
"It's letting Harrisburg know that we need this, something needs to be done, it's important to us," George said. "It's not a commuter problem, it's not a resident problem, it's a much larger issue that Point Park needs to be aware of. Ultimately, it's going to affect Pittsburgh in the future, if it happens and these routes are cut and parking becomes a problem, businesses may leave Downtown. It's a chain reaction."
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