Pennsylvania already has SEPTA, a multicounty transit agency for the counties around Philadelphia, but what about SWEPTA, a multicounty agency around Pittsburgh?
State Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills and Senate minority leader, wants to take a look. Costa is seeking co-sponsors for a bill he intends to introduce perhaps as early as this week to propose the Southwestern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
Costa said he thinks it is important for state leaders to consider forming another regional operation because transit agencies across the state are facing deficits as emergency federal money awarded during the pandemic is running out and the state hasn’t increased its subsidy funds for more than 12 years. That’s more than two years beyond when the last statewide increase in transit funds expired, and Pittsburgh Regional Transit in Allegheny County is facing a $117 million deficit and proposing a 35% service cut while at Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority the numbers are a $213 million deficit and 45% cut.
Costa said he hasn’t settled on an exact proposal yet, but he wants to get the process started. It galls him every time he sees a Westmoreland Transit Authority bus pass his wife and other passengers on trips to Pittsburgh from Greensburg on Route 30 because under state law they aren’t allowed to stop and pick them up.
Changes in state law could eliminate that type of situation. A regional authority also could eliminate some redundant administrative and operational costs such as managers, service facilities and maintenance crews.
“I think it’s one part of how we can become more efficient,” Costa said after a Senate Democratic Caucus Policy Committee hearing in Pittsburgh last week, where he first publicly mentioned the idea.
“It may not be a formal merger, but maybe we can eliminate some of the barriers.”
Katharine Eagan Kelleman, CEO at Pittsburgh Regional Transit, said a multicounty agency is an idea worth exploring. She’s worked in states such as Texas and Florida, where that approach has been tried over the years with various degrees of success.
“I think we all are waiting to see what things come out in the legislation,” she said Thursday. “We’re talking about completely independent agencies. You’d have to figure out how to put them together.”
Speaking generally and not about the specific local agencies, Kelleman said items that have to be addressed in any regionalization concept include salaries and benefits for workers, membership on the agency’s oversight and management board, and what happens to administrative staff when agencies begin joint operations.
Locally, Kelleman noted that her agency has taken some steps to allow agencies to cooperate for the benefit of riders. The long-range plan the agency adopted in 2021, NEXTransit, includes plans to consider more coordination with outlying counties, and officials designed its mobile payment app so that other agencies in the region can easily adapt the same system that would allow riders to pay one fare if they are transferring from a carrier in one county to one in another county.
In general, Kelleman said she favors almost anything that will benefit riders.
“I think it’s never a bad time to talk about providing better service,” she said. “Riders don’t care who’s driving the vehicle or what uniform they are wearing. They care about where they are going and the best way to get there.”
The leaders of agencies around Allegheny County either declined to comment or couldn’t be reached.
In his pitch for co-sponsors, Costa said his goal was to encourage cooperation by offering incentives for agencies to work together rather than mandating mergers.
“It is time to right-size our regional transportation system to meet the regional economy of the Southwestern part of the Commonwealth. My legislation would encourage smaller transit agencies to consolidate with PRT to create SWEPTA, a regional transit authority with a larger board and multi-county representation. To be clear, this legislation would not require merger. Rather, it would provide incentives to merge mass transit administration, management and planning functions into a single body.”
Costa stressed he doesn’t know how quickly his proposal might be adopted, noting that SEPTA was approved in August 1963 after several years of discussions.
“I think this is going to be an educational process,” he said. “These conversations need to be had.”
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.