PRT warns of potential fare hike, service cuts
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Officials say bus routes like the 28s could see cuts if Pittsburgh Regional Transit doesn't receive more state funding. Photo: Justin Merriman/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The region's largest public transit agency will make large-scale service cuts and raise fares if state lawmakers don't allocate tens of millions more dollars in the upcoming budget, officials say.
Why it matters: Pittsburgh Regional Transit — which provides 120,000 daily rides across its bus, light-rail and incline system — is looking to stabilize ridership and redesign its bus network amid the financial uncertainty of a new era of remote work.
Driving the news: PRT spokesperson Adam Brandolph tells Axios that increased employee health care and maintenance costs due to inflation have caused the agency to pull $50 million from its reserve funds this year.
- The agency said its structural deficit will continue to grow without an increase in funding. It will be $100 million in the red next year and then an additional $10 million on top of that the year after that, said Brandolph.
State of play: The agency needs a $117 million annual increase to stave off a fare hike, service cuts and employee layoffs, PRT CEO Katharine Kelleman told state lawmakers last month.
- Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed a $40 million annual increase for PRT in his budget address last month. That's part of a $282 million annual increase for public transit agencies statewide.
What they're saying: Brandolph said PRT has already cut 36% of its service over the last two decades and cutting more will be "devastating." He said that without a state funding increase, the agency will also have to cancel its bus network redesign plans.
- "We have cut the fat over the years, and we have even cut through some muscle. This would be cutting bone," he said.
Context: Transit agencies across the country are struggling financially. Kansas City's, for example, is facing a $32 million shortfall.
- Pennsylvania's largest transit agency, SEPTA in the Philadelphia region, received $153 million in allocated federal funds last year to avoid a "death spiral," and is also looking for an increase in state funds moving forward to avoid potential cuts and a fare hike.
The other side: Republicans control the state Senate and have been somewhat wary of Shapiro's proposal for transit funding increases.
- State Sen. Judy Ward (R-Blair), who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, told Public Source she wants to "right-size" public transit agencies in the state, indicating they could be in line for cuts.
- "Our budget doesn't allow for a lot of additional spending," she said.
What's next: PRT will provide more details about fare increases and route cuts on Thursday at a board meeting.