The Last Thing US Transit Agencies Should Do Now
Rising costs and widening deficits as pandemic aid runs out are challenging bus and train operators in many cities. But cutting service needs to be a last resort.
A commuter boards a SEPTA bus in Philadelphia.
Photographer: Hannah Beier/BloombergIt’s an anxious time for straphangers in the Steel City.
Facing a yawning budget gap, leaders of Pittsburgh Regional Transit are warning of draconian service cuts that could come next year. Of the agency’s 100 bus routes, 41 would be scrapped while 57 would see longer wait times. PRT buses and trains would stop running before 11 p.m., and several suburban townships, such as Shaler and Harrison, would be disconnected entirely from the network. Pittsburghers for Public Transit, an advocacy group, has called the proposed changes “catastrophic.”