Great graphic on expected commuter effect of transit cuts (Philadelphia: leasing, centers)

[BrianTH]

I'd love it if the state went the route of Oregon and adopted something like Metro for the Pittsburgh and Philly metro areas:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_(...nal_government)

[raubre]

Originally Posted by DaBurgh

move closer to work
carpool
negotiate with employer to work from home more
negotiate with employer to change start and finish times to avoid traffic
combine daily errands

suggestions for avoiding the misery.

People are too car reliant in Pittsburgh (I still can't figure that one out)

Our office is moving to our main loctaion which is closer to me and I am a bus rider to begin with.

Those are all good ideas but where I work no one would agree with me.

No one wants to shuttle or carpool because we have flex time and most are mothers that have to run thier kids everywhere when they are done with work.

Our employer is offering work at home ONLY if you make good production and you are a brown noser. They only selected ten out of 100+ people. That is all they said they wer going to do.

Some (most) employers are non negotiable if you don't have flex time or retail schedules.

[raubre]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

I think Harrisburg needs to restructure both the PAT and SEPTA aka the 2 most backward systems in the Northeast... They redid the Keystone service and it runs on a profit , i'm not saying that the PAT or Septa could run on profits but they really need to redo the system. PA is the transit punching bag for the NE , the fact that all your neighbors are redoing there systems and management setups must really tell you something.

It's really sad when Cleveland has better transit service than we do. They run pretty close to a 24 hour schedule.

[BrianTH]

Incidentally, despite the identifiable faults of the system, Pittsburgh has relatively high public transit use for an urbanized area of its size and weighted density, up there with Portland and Seattle. If fully implemented, PAT's TDP should improve those statistics further, but implementing the TDP will require investments in things like a SmartCard system, Rapid Bus, and so on.

As I have noted before, I have no problem with people advocating that PAT become more efficient, including with respect to labor costs (although as with many legacy cost issues in the region, cutting legacy labor costs will require state action). But simply slashing PAT's budget won't make it more efficient, and in fact doing so will make it much harder for PAT to become more efficient in the near future.

[grimacista]

Public transit is a necessity and dedicated funding sources for it are needed. However, in a 'chicken or the egg' problem, no one wants to give PAT more money because of its past incompetence and the view that PAT workers make more and work less than the people that foot their salaries.

Again, like everything else in this society, I think the real problem to actual reform and efficiency are these legacy costs, which, right or wrong, are owed to people who simply were beneficiaries of a system that wrote checks that now can't be supported.

[ditchdigger]

I've tried digging holes in my backyard and phoning them in, but haven't had good results...

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

I think Harrisburg needs to restructure both the PAT and SEPTA aka the 2 most backward systems in the Northeast... They redid the Keystone service and it runs on a profit , i'm not saying that the PAT or Septa could run on profits but they really need to redo the system. PA is the transit punching bag for the NE , the fact that all your neighbors are redoing there systems and management setups must really tell you something.

Youre absolutely right......ive been beating that drumb for Eons now.....Notice how During the Gov race both Corbett or Onaroto said nothing about the Transit Crisis and how to solve it nor was the question ever asked....they both were throwing red meat to Rural PA Showing just how little clout both Pittsburgh and Philly both have when it comes to PA politics......

First PAT and WPA's issue is they need to considate all these little agencies in the Metro and make one large SWPTA....This is one area Septa has done better that PAT.....

2nd Both PAT and SEPTA need to get their Fare Collection updated both are gossly antiquated.....hurry up and get Metrocard going...

3rd both Pittsburgh and Philly could stand to embrace transit better both cities are heavily attached to the Car culture....

[BrianTH]

One of the things I like about Oregon's Metro approach is it allows one agency to do integrated land-use and transportation planning, including both highways and transit. I actually don't think Pittsburgh is fundamentally autocentric, but the need to get every level of government in the metro--one or more municipalities, one or more counties, state, and federal--simultaneously aligned on transportation projects biases things in favor of highways, because the approval process for such projects is quicker and easier, and can benefit from coalition-building with nearby rural interests as well.

Edit: Oh, and the Metro officials are directly elected, which makes them less beholden to other officials.

[BrianTH]

PAT is working with a national placement agency to increase ad revenues:

New firm to sell ads on Port Authority buses

Probably not a huge amount of money, but every little bit helps.

[youngabe]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

Thank you for adding that clarifying part of your statement. Pittsburgh's traffic is abysmal for a city of just 300,000, but as far as traffic in general is concerned yinz all ain't got nuthin' on NoVA!

Not to mention our existing highway infrastructure was never meant to handle the large amount of vehicles that is does on a daily basis. Quite the interesting website tells all about the canceled highway projects for Allegheny County as a whole. I find this all to be a VERY interesting read.

Pittsburgh Highways:* Pittsburgh's Cancelled Expressways