Will route cuts fix PRT problems?

MASS TRANSPORTATION is a critical part of life in a metropolitan area.

It connects people to jobs, doctors, churches and shopping. It makes it possible for families to stay in touch. It breaks down barriers for those who cannot drive or for those who cannot afford cars.

But those are the benefits to those who use mass transit. There are still benefits for those who simply live in cities with good transit programs.

A well-connected city is one where people want to live. It is a selling point for real estate. It lowers traffic congestion. Think about the 40 people on a bus at rush hour. Now imagine they are all trying to get down the same road but driving cars, waiting for lights, honking horns and trying to find parking.

However, it’s a benefit that has been floundering. In March 2024, the American Public Transportation Association was eager to report that ridership had rebounded 79% from numbers before the covid pandemic. That still speaks of a 21% drop from pre-coronavirus rates.

The Federal Transit Authority in 2019 already was reporting steady drops over 10 years. In Pittsburgh, numbers are down 36% over about 20 years.

That makes the route cuts proposed Thursday by Pittsburgh Regional Transit make some sense. The agency is looking at a $100 million deficit next year, ballooning to $1.8 billion over a decade. Drastic action, said CEO Katherine Kelleman, was necessary, as was a 25-cent rate increase.

The proposed cuts include more than 40% of all routes. Chief development officer Amy Silberman called the plan “brutal.”

But cutting routes makes using mass transportation more inconvenient. It makes getting from one place to another take longer, requires more planning and eliminates options for some days.

At the same time, the price increase may be just as hard to take. Allegheny County would become the fifth-highest mass transportation fare in the country.

Is increasing the cost while decreasing options the right way to stem drooping ridership and stop the bleeding of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s coffers? That sounds like a dying restaurant planning to keep the doors open and get out of debt by selling less food.

If there is an upside to the proposal, it’s that it would not take place until next year. The plan would have to be approved first. Then there would be about 11 months until the changes went into effect.

That’s cold comfort for people like rider Steven Kochanowski of Aspinwall, who relies on the buses every day. The robustly connected mass transportation was part of what prompted him to move to Aspinwall. If the proposal is approved, that disappears.

“If you want Pittsburgh to thrive,” he asked, “how can you thrive if you don’t have a real public transit system?”