Pittsburgh's Public Transit crisis is about to get a lot worse...

[Impala26]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

Why won't this happen in 2012? I thought the unions had "offered" some "concessions" to Onarato to save jobs/service before the last wave of cuts but Onarato declined because he said it wasn't enough. Why wouldn't they at the least offer the same "concessions" when their contract is up in 2012? This is assuming the "concessions" that they offered were actually concessions. Were they?

Unfortunately, riders don't have a seat at the table. They are clearly the beneficiary of public transportation and are affected by cuts but they have no say in either funding PAT or deciding whether or not the drivers take a cut.

Any chance that a tax intiative for public transportation for county residents could be developed similar to the library initiative that that just passed in the city?

I've been thinking the same thing lately. I thought I read in the Post-Gazette recently about a City Council member proposing such a tax or perhaps a new property tax/assessment scheme.

Frankly combining something like that with Union concessions is the only way I can see PAT being spared from this.

[pman]

the concessions were in exchange for greater funding I think.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

I thought the unions had "offered" some "concessions" to Onarato to save jobs/service before the last wave of cuts but Onarato declined because he said it wasn't enough.

I was never clear on what actually happened in those negotiations and why they broke down permanently, but I agree that is grounds for at least some hope.

Unfortunately, riders don't have a seat at the table. They are clearly the beneficiary of public transportation and are affected by cuts but they have no say in either funding PAT or deciding whether or not the drivers take a cut.

That's not entirely true. Those with a stake in PAT (which is more than just riders) could have a lot of political influence, if they chose to use it.

Generally, I just think it is important to note the officials involved in these issues are supposed to be serving the public interest, not just trying to reduce funding for transit regardless of the impact on the public.

Any chance that a tax intiative for public transportation for county residents could be developed similar to the library initiative that that just passed in the city?

It is a good question, and off hand I don't know the legalities.

I would note that Allegheny County should not accept the notion that the state can take whatever transportation dollars out of the County it likes and not give back a fair share of those funds for local transportation needs. But as I have long pointed out, if the state is really willing to devolve these issues down to the county level, Allegheny County would benefit.