Pittsburgh transit riders are upset. PAT, the agency that runs the bus and light-rail system, is out of money and proposes to cut almost half the routes. Some of these routes connect two of the three biggest trip generators in the state, downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland.
It was less than two years ago that Mayoral hopeful Bob O’Connor, unveiling his first major economic proposal, suggested building a new streetcar line connecting downtown and Oakland.
Today it’s a different world-view. The cuts proposed by PAT threaten to confuse if not strand riders who have few options to get to their destination, must add considerable time to their trips or face parking in places with limited parking and less than affordable parking rates.
Changing bus routes also impacts development and the viability of neighborhoods. The 500 for example provides direct access from North neighborhoods like Bellevue and Brighton Heights to Oakland and downtown. Those neighborhoods are not as attractive without that route.
This gets back to the basics of transit. Once the spine of American cities, our web of streetcar systems has been replaced over the past fifty years with a system of buses. These buses can easily be rerouted or cut entirely. They don’t require any capital investment other than the bus itself. Streetcar systems on the other hand require significant capital investment, but once in place they provide cost-savings, but more importantly transit that can not only be relied on by riders, but by developers, businesses and homeowners who can with much reassurance know that the transit line is likely to be there and running indefinitely into the future.
Mayor O’Connor was right. It’s time to look downtown again and time to look at streetcars again. It’s time to find dedicated funding for transit and time to make transit systems a permanent part of our cities, so cities can be built around them.
It’s also time for Pittsburghers to begin asking “Who can rely on the bus?”
1 comment:
While I agree that investing in light rail and other mass transit systems should be a priority for our region and nationally, it is not a panacea for a lack of economic development and planning. The 52s light rail route is not immune from cutbacks and has been on the chopping block for many years due to its low ridership and the lack of priority for transit in our government budgets.
If you care about transit in our region, I encourage you to read my post at buskarma and get involved: by commenting on how the Port Authority can make less painful cuts and by reinforcing the importance of transit to your county and state government.
FYI, the move to eliminate through-town routes like the 500 and providing free transfers is a cost cutting tradeoff we probably have to make when funding is not prioritized. FWIW, they are replacing 500 service with 16C and 71B service.
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