Fare reductions

Many rely on buses as main transportation

For lower-income people, the bus and rail lines operated by The Allegheny County Port Authority are a lifeline — to jobs, medical appointments and more.

The authority should consider fare reductions that will help people already struggling to make ends meet.

A little creative thinking will help without busting the authority’s budget.

The authority has shown willingness to consider fare reductions for those with low income. The authority has a consultant looking at the fee structure and a report is expected by the end of the year. Authority officials should act quickly to implement possible reductions.

Fares account for about 21% of the authority’s revenue. Pete Schenk, the authority’s chief financial officer, said the agency wants to stay close to that percentage.

Ideas for reallocating fares were made by representatives of Pittsburghers for Public Transit and Just Harvest, an organization fighting hunger, at a Jan. 29 Port Authority community meeting.

Among the ideas:

• •Reducing the $2.75 per ride cash fare to $2.50, the cost of a ConnectCard fare.

• •Eliminating transfer fees, which are $1 with a ConnectCard and full fare for cash.

• •Reducing fees for riders during offpeak hours.

Mr. Schenk also suggested another possibility — a reduction in the $7 cost of a daily pass with unlimited rides.

The ideas have merit. And a fare reduction will benefit the majority of riders. Transfer at full fare for cash riders is particularly inequitable. If a rider needs to use two or more buses to get to work, the fees build up quickly compared to ConnectCard users.

About 65% of riders use the bus to get back and forth to work, according to a 2018 authority survey. Of all bus riders, 76% said that authority buses were their only option to get around.

Riders who use the Light Rail Transit system to get to work are about 67% of all riders, and 48% of T riders said the rail system or combination of the rail system and buses were their only option to get around.

Lowering fares for daily riders would help the many residents who rely on public transportation get to work.