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WEBVTT THEY SAY IT WILL HURT TRANSITRIDERS.rtTHE PORT AUTHORITY IS SOUNDINGAN EARLY ALARM.ITrt COULD MEAN CUTTING NEARLYHALF OF ITS DAILY TRANSIT ROUTESAND GETTING RID OF WEEKEND ANDEVENING SERVICE, TOO.>>rt THERE IS NOT AN AREA OF THECOUNTY THAT IS NOT GOING TO BEIMPACTED BY A REDUCTION OF THISSIZE.BOB: SOME WANTrt TO SHIFT MONEYOUT OF SOME DEDICATED FUNDS,INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION.THE PORT AUTHORITY SAYS THATMEANS $80 MILLION OF A LOSS INTHIS FISCAL YEAR.rtLOSING HALF THE ROUTES ANDEVENING AND WEEKEND SERVICE.>> I WOULD PROBABLY LOSE MY JOB.I DO NOT HAVE A CAR INrtPITTSBURGH.>> IT WOULD BE A LONG WALK.AND CATCHING A CABrt IS NOTFEASIBLE FOR ME RIGHT NOW.>> I AM A STUDENT.I DEPEND ON THE BUS TO GET TOWHERE Irt NEED TO GO, SO IF THEYWERE TO CUT SERVICE, THAT WOULDBE DEBILITATING.TO GETrt BACK AND FORTH TO OURDOCTORS AND OUR FRIENDS ANDFAMILY.BOB: A COUNTY EXECUTIVE SAYS THEPROPOSAL WOULD BREAK A STATEPROMrtISE OF RELIABLE STATETRANSIT FUNDING.>> PEOPLE BOUGHT HOUSES.PEOPLE LOCATED THEIR BUSINESSES.PEOPLE MOVED INTO AREAS BASED ONrtA PROMISE.BOB: THE PROPOSAL THAT ISSOUNDING THE ALARM FOR THE PORTAUTHORITY WAS BEINGrt PUT OUT BY

Advertisement Port Authority says riders could face massive service cuts under proposal floated by some Pa. House members Cuts could include the elimination of nearly half of current bus routes, in addition to evening and weekend service. Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Attention, bus and T riders: The Port Authority of Allegheny County is sounding an early alarm.It's warning that a budget proposal being floated in the state House could force it to cut nearly half of its transit routes, get rid of weekend and evening service and raise fares."There is not an area of this county that's not going to be impacted by a reduction of this size," Port Authority interim CEO David Donahoe said.Some Republican lawmakers in the House want to shift money out of certain dedicated state fund accounts, including some funding dedicated to transportation. The Port Authority says that would mean a loss of $80 million in its operating funds during the fiscal year that's already underway.Some riders, when informed by Pittsburgh's Action News 4 about the Port Authority's warning, expressed their own apprehensions."That would probably mean that I'd lose my job. I don't have a car in Pittsburgh, so I use the buses or the T to get everywhere," said Trevor Eisenhuth, of Bloomfield."I work in Green Tree, and it would be a long walk, and catching a cab is just not feasible for me right now," said Mark Harris, of the North Side, who also relies on the Port Authority to get to his job."I'm a student. I have to depend on buses to get to places I need to go," said Jonathan Higgins, of Penn Hills. "(If) they were to cut service, that would be just debilitating, not just to me but to other people who depend on the service."Teresa Davidson, of Oakland, said that she and others with disabilities rely on the Port Authority to "get back and forth to our doctors and everything, and to our friends and family."Get your news on the go: Download the WTAE mobile appAllegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald said the proposal would break a state promise of reliable transit funding made with the passage of Act 89 four years ago."People bought houses, people located their businesses, people moved into places, based on a promise. We promised people that they would have 10 years of stable funding," Fitzgerald said. "Economically, it would hurt this region tremendously. We're growing again. It would hurt our businesses, our corporate (community) and the economic growth of this region. It would hurt people from the top corporations to the folks in the neighborhoods.""This is a threat to blow that up, essentially, that agreement that's not very old," Donahoe said.Pittsburgh's Action News 4 requested and is awaiting a comment from a spokesman for House Speaker Mike Turzai. The House Republicans were in a closed door meeting Monday afternoon to discuss the plan."Under the proposal, we would lose $80 million in operating support that the state had committed to fund in this fiscal year," Donahoe said. "We would immediately have to eliminate nearly half of our 98 routes. All of our routes would be impacted. We would have service reductions across the board, but we would probably have to close two operating divisions. We would also have to look at eliminating weekend service."Closing two divisions would also result in the furloughing of hundreds of employees.Donahoe indicated the troubles for the Port Authority would not end there. He said the transit system would lose revenue at the fare box as a result of cutting service, and it could lose matching funds as well. "It's $80 million at the beginning of the problem, and it could grow to anything near $100 million by the time it's over," he said. "Make no mistake, a reduction of this size severely impacts our service area, as well as our service within the city."