PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Save Our Transit gears up to fight for more funding
by Andy Mulkerin Saturday, Dec. 07, 2002 at 9:04 AM
arm58@pitt.edu (email address validated)

Coming off a victory in County Council, Save Our Transit is preparing to lobby for more state funding this coming year.

After two rounds of fare hikes and service cuts in one year, Save Our Transit activists are pushing on, winning a decisive victory in Allegheny County Council this week.

County Council passed a budget Tuesday night that includes over $6 million for the Port Authority, more than what County Executive Jim Roddey originally intended to give to PAT. It is expected, but not assured, that Roddey will not veto that allocation. He has one week from the date of passage to veto or line-item veto.

The meeting at which the council approved the budget was attended by about 10 transit advocates, several of whom spoke out during the public comments period for the budget. Steve Donahue, who describes himself (as do many SOT members) as a "captive rider" of Port Authority Transit, thanked the County Council for adding the allocation into the budget, saying that "bus riders pay taxes, and we pay an extra tax every day called a fare. The buses belong to us and we need to show ownership for them."

The next step for the group is to lobby for a bill to be passed by the state general assembly allocating more funds for public transit statewide. The bill, first introduced in 2001 as House Bill 1498, has plenty of friends in the state house, but then died in the senate transportation committee.

Save Our Transit would like to hear from the Port Authority that this bill would mean automatic fare reductions and a return to greater service. If this assurance is given, they can then rally transit riders in support of the bill much more easily. The group is afraid that bad press given to PAT's executives recently could make riders think that the authority would fail to use the additional state funding for better service and lower costs.

Actions being planned include a rally at the state building in Downtown Pittsburgh and a much larger lobbying trip to Harrisburg, which would be coordinated statewide with groups from other cities.

The Pittsburgh rally is tentatively set for January 14, one week after new General Assembly members are sworn in and one week before Ed Rendell is inaugurated. SOT hopes that new state representatives and senators will be able to attend the rally during the lull week in state business.

The Harrisburg rally would be later, and may involve circling the capitol with buses from around the state. Singing "The Wheels On the Bus" in the halls of the capitol has also been mentioned.

Past IMC coverage of Save Our Transit can be found here:
http://indypgh.org/news/2002/08/1.php

add your comments