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

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by LIRefugee

Therefore, you are advocating that the only way to rescue PAT is to eliminate their capacity to provide any transit services entirely.

Yep.

But, of course, it is a crazy conspiracy to suggest that this "plan" might also happen to serve the interests of people who actually want to eliminate public transit agencies.

[LIRefugee]

All in all, I think it worse to decimate public transit in Pittsburgh than to continue funding the pensions, if that is what is required to avoid decimation.

[gg]

A little more pocket change PAT needs to come up with. Kind of funny really.

Port Authority must pay more than $344,000 in legal fees - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

[dislocated82]

Holy smokes! That was an interesting read. Almost like minuites from a city council meeting. Haha. I'm actually about to move to Pittsburgh in a couple weeks and i'm going to be relying on public transportation for a window of time so i figured i'd read through this a bit. My intial reaction is reguardless of who is to blame, im extremely confused as how it even got to this point. Yes, i get it, politions, blah blah blah, taxes, blah blah blah, these are hot issues all over the country right? But ive never heard of a metro devaluing it's public trans and i've lived in quite a few metros and kept tabs on the goings on in others and it always seems to be a top priority no matter who is in charge (what party/faction/etc.). How is it in a city this size with such limited access routes into the city center does it make sense that its even got to this point? I know im an outsider, but im looking to become an insider. Ever since ive made the decision to move here (which honestly wasnt more than 2 weeks ago) i've been reading around this forum. And everything about the Pittsburgh sounds GREAT, EXCEPT this situation. Public transportation to a city this size is VITAL! How did they not see this coming, and how could anyone disagree? Its just confusing to me. Should i spend what i was going to spend on a bus pass on a bike instead? I hope not. Reguarless of what happens with this, i'm still coming there. But if i end up needing to buy a car, spending 5$ a gallon to be stuck on the Ft. Pitt for an hour a day, it would put a large and unnecessary black mark on what seems to be a wonderful city.

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by dislocated82

Holy smokes! That was an interesting read. Almost like minuites from a city council meeting. Haha. I'm actually about to move to Pittsburgh in a couple weeks and i'm going to be relying on public transportation for a window of time so i figured i'd read through this a bit. My intial reaction is reguardless of who is to blame, im extremely confused as how it even got to this point. Yes, i get it, politions, blah blah blah, taxes, blah blah blah, these are hot issues all over the country right? But ive never heard of a metro devaluing it's public trans and i've lived in quite a few metros and kept tabs on the goings on in others and it always seems to be a top priority no matter who is in charge (what party/faction/etc.). How is it in a city this size with such limited access routes into the city center does it make sense that its even got to this point? I know im an outsider, but im looking to become an insider. Ever since ive made the decision to move here (which honestly wasnt more than 2 weeks ago) i've been reading around this forum. And everything about the Pittsburgh sounds GREAT, EXCEPT this situation. Public transportation to a city this size is VITAL! How did they not see this coming, and how could anyone disagree? Its just confusing to me. Should i spend what i was going to spend on a bus pass on a bike instead? I hope not. Reguarless of what happens with this, i'm still coming there. But if i end up needing to buy a car, spending 5$ a gallon to be stuck on the Ft. Pitt for an hour a day, it would put a large and unnecessary black mark on what seems to be a wonderful city.

That's what happens when you elect a Far Right Governor who's platform is "Do Nothing, Cut Whatever (regardless of its Vitality), Don't Raise Taxes" and your Public Transportation depends Overwhelmingly on Funding from the State, but All of its board is appointed by the County Executive and the City which is the most reliant has absolutely no say so in the matter.

The way PAT was structured from the Get Go was F*CKED UP.....Pittsburgh is a city that doesn't sit up and notice any of this until its about to go off a cliff like now. This was years, decades in the making. Even after Rendell brought PAT sometime, and they cut 15% of the service it still wasn't taken seriously until PAT announced the Rendell emergency funds are running out and were back to square one.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by dislocated82

Should i spend what i was going to spend on a bus pass on a bike instead?

I don't know how you feel about cycling, but many people on this forum seem to think it's a good way to get around.

[BrianTH]

In the long run I would love to see us get more control over our transportation funding in the Pittsburgh Metro/Allegheny County. Problem is we are a cash-cow for the rural parts of the state, and they won't let us go easily.

[Debbie1125]

Interesting story from the local CBS affiliate about mass transit vs rural roads being subsidized

PennDot Sec: Rural Roads Subsidized More Than Mass Transit « CBS Philly

Responding to a complaint that mass transit in Pennsylvania’s urban areas is too heavily supported with state dollars, the state transportation secretary says motorists in those urban areas also subsidize roads in rural areas – and at a higher rate.

Schoch says most rural roads carry fewer than 2-thousand vehicles. And he says most of Penn Dot’s revenue comes from vehicle fees and gas taxes; the lion’s share of which is paid by residents in Pennsylvania’s urban areas.

[Blackbeauty212]

Ahh good find.....I've always suspected this was the case......Pittsburgh/Philadelphia needs more weight in the PA legislature, seriously, its a JOKE that the 2 largest economic engines and tax contributors are railroaded politically like they are.

[BrianTH]

As I noted in another thread, I find it pretty surprising Schoch forcefully made that argument, and I hope it means the Corbett Administration is starting to rally behind a balanced solution to the transportation funding crisis.

And yes, it would be nice if more people in the two large metros understood what was really going on in these state transportation funding issues, because we could get much better policy if we acted together.