You think its bad for PAT now, it's about to get A LOT WORSE! (Philadelphia: stations, business)

[greg42]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

It's incredibly hard to justify a $67 million expenditure that may create 20,000 jobs while ignoring a $64 million PAT deficit that will affect 40,000 daily riders (as well as numerous other consequences to the region).

Good chunk of 20k jobs is only going to be during construction. That place isn't going to employ 20k ongoing, not anywhere near that I'd think.

[Evergrey]

Transit ridership rising in Western Pennsylvania | TribLIVE

...

Locally, Port Authority of Allegheny County had 15,268,400 riders in the first quarter, up 6.2 percent year-to-year, the association said.

Port Authority ridership has soared since the opening of the North Shore Connector, a 1.2-mile extension of the agency's T light-rail system that opened March 25. Port Authority said the connector had about 6,000 average weekday riders in April, fueling an overall 10 percent surge in ridership for the month.

...

[BrianTH]

Increasing demand, increasing efficiency--quick, someone shut this thing down before people actually start thinking public transit has some role to play in the future of this state!

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Transit ridership rising in Western Pennsylvania | TribLIVE

But I thought no-one rides Public Transit in Pittsburgh, it was an absolute waste causing folks to pay more for their beer?

[jimmyev]

Originally Posted by UKyank

It depends on what Ohio & WV were offering as incentives as to whether this is a ridiculous deal or not. If they were offering about the same tax breaks then it's better to give a tax break to company that will employ people in our state who will then be paying taxes on this new source of wealth then to not give a tax break & reep no benefits if the company chose to build the plant elsewhere.

Again, I have no facts that leads me to a determination either way & yes indeed the governor could have given away lots of $ needlessly - but to just say big oil tax break = evil is simplistic thinking

So it's going to be written into the agreement for the tax breaks that Shell can't hire workers from West Virginia or Ohio? Don't think so. What benefits will Beaver County get from this plant? A whole swath of land close to an industrial facility that won't appreciate - and will most likely depreciate - in value for the lifetime of the plant? Stagnant and declining property taxes? All in exchange for a $54/year/employee occupation fee? Oh, with a bargain like that I got some oceanfront property in Arizona for ya...

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by jimmyev

So it's going to be written into the agreement for the tax breaks that Shell can't hire workers from West Virginia or Ohio? Don't think so. What benefits will Beaver County get from this plant? A whole swath of land close to an industrial facility that won't appreciate - and will most likely depreciate - in value for the lifetime of the plant? Stagnant and declining property taxes? All in exchange for a $54/year/employee occupation fee? Oh, with a bargain like that I got some oceanfront property in Arizona for ya...

I mean if someone wants to commute everday to work from WV or Ohio they are more then welcome to, though I would suspect that would be a minority of employees & that most all would be residing in Pennsylvania.

Though from your post I gather that you would be against the new plant regardless if there were no tax incentives offered as a blight on the area.
Again, I am not saying that PA negotiated a good deal (it may be horrible) with this and would like to see data showing how it is a net benefit to the state before making any conclusions, I just equally don't like when others see tax break to a corp (especially 'big oil') and automatically see it as bad.

[pman]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Increasing demand, increasing efficiency--quick, someone shut this thing down before people actually start thinking public transit has some role to play in the future of this state!

In 2009, the FRA’s Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) prepared a set of technical criteria and procedures for evaluating passenger rail train-sets that have been built to alternative designs. The alternative designs enable lighter, more fuel-efficient rail vehicles equipped with a Crash Energy Management system to commingle with traditionally compliant equipment. The DCTA/Stadler alternative design waiver is the first comprehensive submittal that follows the RSAC Engineering Task Force procedures for Tier I equipment.

DCTA's Stadler railcars receive FRA waiver - News - METRO Magazine
this would seem to be a boost to the avrr project, meaning it could run at all times (and thus serve pens games, etc).

[BrianTH]

This article actually does a good job explaining how Turzai's bill will make no notable difference:

Public transit bill heads to governor | TribLIVE

To review, Turzai's bill will shift the role of approving private operators from PAT to the PUC. However, there is no evidence that PAT is refusing to approve private operators. Rather, as explained in the article, PAT has actually approved every recent request. And Lenzner, the largest private operator in the region, said it has had no problem getting approval. The real problem, according to Lenzner, is limited opportunities to operate transit at a profit.

[Evergrey]

More "Pittsburgh as national poster child for politically-motivated transit dysfunction"...


Cities Slash Public Transit - WSJ.com

* U.S. NEWS
* June 4, 2012, 8:15 p.m. ET

Sharp Transit Cuts Pinch Riders and Employers



PITTSBURGH—Bill Griffin was planning to add 150 new call-center positions at DialAmerica's office here but decided to put the plan on hold.

He isn't worried about the economy. He's worried about the bus service.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County plans to cut 46 of its 102 bus lines in September, while raising fares by about 10% to 15%, to help close a $64 million budget gap. The fare increase and historic service cuts have drawn fire not only from angry commuters but also from business groups, which want the state to help out. Republican Gov. Tom Corbett says the transit agency needs to put its fiscal house in order first.

...

[BrianTH]

Hopefully the documented loss of potential jobs helps break through to more people.