We know that transit is a public necessity, connecting people across our region--no matter their neighborhood, income level, or ability--to jobs, healthcare, food, and community. The state government's budget proposal will revoke access to these lifelines for thousands.
Alongside our partner coalition Transit For All PA!, we're calling on our elected officials to find a stable, alternative funding source for public transit--one that restores transit funding and service to pre-2019 levels across the state, from Pittsburgh to Erie to Philly and everywhere in between.
In the last 5 years, PRT has already quietly cut 20% of its service, and with it, communities as diverse as McKeesport, Greentree, and Monroeville are already struggling to reach jobs, healthcare, food, and community. If we further reduce service and increase fares to the proposed extent, the system will become effectively unusable for riders in our area. Riders are already seeing wait times of up to an hour for their daily commutes, and many riders are simply not able to afford that level of uncertainty. PRT generates over $700 million each year, supporting over 5,000 jobs. We cannot afford to cut that generator down by 40 or 60 percent.
Transit riders are ready with a response that meets the scale of the crisis. The crisis is statewide: the state budget doesn't just affect Pittsburghers, but also people riding SEPTA to work in Philadelphia, elders moving around their communities safely in Erie, and disabled community members using paratransit in Harrisburg. It's all the same state budget, so the solution needs to be statewide.
Our statewide, rider-led coalition, Transit for All PA!, is organizing for new, dedicated funding sources at the state level to fund the service riders need in order to use the system. We're calling on state legislators to find a new, stable source of funding for public transit, which would restore transit service across the state to 2019 levels–and even improve transit access in communities outside Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
