TRAVELING CONCERNS

Port Authority urges Pa. legislators to spare public transit from funding cuts

Imagine Port Authority reducing daily bus and T service hours by 20 percent, eliminating half of its 98 routes or stopping all weekend service.

Those are the steps the agency would have to consider — along with a substantial fare hike and stopping capital improvements — if the state Legislature adopts a House Republican proposal that would cut the agency’s funding by $80 million, acting CEO David Donahoe said in a letter to Allegheny County’s legislative delegation.

A group of GOP legislators has proposed taking $357 million from the Public Transit Trust Fund — and 40 other funds they consider inactive — to help pay for the state’s 2017-18 budget. The Legislature adopted a new budget in July, but the House and Senate have yet to agree on a plan to pay for it.

In a letter to legislators released Monday, Mr. Donahoe said the proposal would have a wide-reaching impact on the riders who use the system annually, which has totaled morethan 60 million rides last year.

“We appreciate the difficulty facing the Legislature in addressing the general fund needs,” Mr. Donahoe wrote. “However, the proposed solution severely damages public transit vital to large and small communities.

“It also blows up a hard-fought and well-thought-out solution to an important problem and would not support the public interest. “

The solution Mr. Donahoe referred to is the 2013 transportation act the Legislature approved to provide a stable source of funding for public transit statewide. Before Act 89 was passed, Port Authority and other transit agencies faced yearly battles for funding that sometimes resulted in service cuts if money wasn’t available.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald also urged legislators to findanother source of funding.

“This proposal is harmful to our residents and would be devastating to our strong and growing economy,” he said in a news release. “More than 100,000 people rely on public transit each day to get where they need to go. These cuts don’t only impact riders, but businesses and other residents because of the ripple effect throughout the county on our service.”

Port Authority Chairman Jeffrey Letwin called Act 89 a “thoughtful” solution and urged legislators “not to discard the progress we have made together.”

In Harrisburg, Democrats and Republicans met separately and privately Monday to discuss their caucuses’ views on the various budget proposals that have been outlined in recent days. Democrats have said they have concerns about the plan that relies on transfers, in part because they believe the transfers could lead to cuts in services and might be illegal.

The House is expected to remain in session throughout the week, if needed.