Pittsburgh Regional Transit asks state for $106.7 million to avoid service cuts

It didn’t take Pittsburgh Regional Transit very long to decide it will ask the state for permission to use capital funds to avoid massive service cuts and layoffs next year.

Faced with no signs of movement by the state Legislature to provide more funding for daily operations, PRT announced Thursday that it has asked the state Department of Transportation to approve using $106.7 million in capital funds. The agency had said on Monday it would take its time before deciding whether to follow the Philadelphia area’s lead in seeking the use of capital funds, which Gov. Josh Shapiro quickly approved after a judge ruled that agency’s service cuts to save money discriminated against minorities and low-income riders.

If PRT is similarly successful, the agency said it would guarantee no reduction in service for the next two years by also using local, federal and reserve funds. The agency stressed that no safety-critical projects would be delayed by using capital funds for operating costs.

Without additional funding, PRT had approved service cuts of 35% beginning in February, plus layoffs of 38% of managers and union workers, elimination of 41 bus routes and ending service at 11 p.m. It also would have stopped providing extra service for special events such as Pittsburgh Steelers games, stadium concerts and the National Football League Draft next April, a reduced service area for paratransit service for riders with disabilities, and increased the base fare 25 cents to $2.75.

“This is not an ideal solution, but it is our best option to protect our riders by avoiding catastrophic service cuts and fare increases,” PRT CEO Katharine Eagan Kelleman said in a news release. “This also gives the Legislature additional time to come up with a sustainable long-term funding solution.”

Transit agencies across the state say they are facing a financial crisis because federal emergency funds awarded during the pandemic have been spent and the Legislature hasn’t approved a new subsidy plan to replace the 10-year plan that expired two years ago. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority ran out of funding earlier than PRT and began cuts last month despite receiving a special $153.4 million allocation in November.

Shapiro approved SEPTA’s request to use $394 million in capital funds to roll back initial cuts and postpone more cuts set for early next year.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Sara Innamorato said in a news release she supported PRT’s decision to ask for capital funds.

“I appreciate the need for PRT to exercise this emergency option to avoid catastrophic cuts and keep our regional economy going,” she said. “I look forward to working with the governor and legislative leaders on a longer-term solution that allows PRT to serve the 1.2 million hard-working people of Allegheny County.”

Democratic leaders and transit advocates also supported the decision but criticized the Legislature for refusing to provide more transit funding. Senate Republicans, in particular, say the issue is hard for rural constituents to support because 87% of the money goes to SEPTA and PRT.

State Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills and Senate minority leader, said he’s “glad” PRT is taking steps to avoid cutting service.

“Once again, the inaction of the Senate Republicans has forced the second largest transit system in Pennsylvania to reallocate funding from their capital fund to their operating fund …,” he said in a statement. “I am extremely frustrated that Senate Republicans refuse to do their part to deliver a sustainable source of funding for our essential public transit systems.

“Transit powers our regional economy by getting people to work, kids to school, seniors to doctors’ appointment and tourists to our attractions. We need the state to do its part to provide funding to keep these services available.”

Advocacy group Mobilify Southwestern Pennsylvania called PRT’s move “the right thing to do” but lamented that it became necessary.

“Let’s be clear: Nothing has been ‘fixed,’” Executive Director Chris Sandvig said. “Riders, employers, PRT, anyone concerned about Southwestern Pennsylvania’s well-being and viability can breathe a sigh of relief – for now.

“But we will be right back here – and then some – in two years if nothing else changes. The long-term transit viability crisis we face continues.”

Sandvig stressed that he believes using money from the Public Transportation Trust Fund could have long-term effects on the transit system.

“The PTTF isn’t some ‘special’ slush fund, as some call it. Every penny supports crucial, long-planned-for capital projects that Pennsylvania’s transit systems need,” Sandvig said. “This isn’t newfound money. Peter’s robbing himself here, and we all deserve better. It maintains an unsustainable status quo, and it may set Pennsylvania transit back in the long run.”

PRT spokesman Adam Brandolph said in an interview the agency hasn’t determined which capital projects would not be funded by spending the money for operating costs. It’s possible the agency could use reserve funds rather than spending the full $106.7 million, he said, if that would allow an important capital project to proceed.

Kelleman and her staff have put a premium on providing dependable service, which is why the agency wants funding for two years. The cuts previously approved by the board were drastic and all at once, but they were designed to allow service to continue for as much as seven years without other reductions.

“We want to make sure riders can plan their lives, and one year doesn’t really do that for our riders,” Brandolph said.

Brandolph added that it is too early to say whether the agency will resume its major redesign of bus routes. That effort – designed to improve service between local communities rather than requiring riders to travel into Downtown Pittsburgh and transfer to another bus to get to a neighboring community — was put on hold earlier this year due to the budget crisis.

Democrats and transit advocates also have strong concerns about the fate of transit agencies in the state’s 65 other counties because state law only authorizes SEPTA and PRT to ask for permission to use capital funds for operating costs.