Fares May Increase For Suburban PAT Bus Riders

The head of the Pittsburgh area's mass transit agency said one-way bus fares could rise from $2.75 to $6 or $7. Chief Executive Officer Steve Bland said the Port Authority of Allegheny County faces a $51 million budget deficit despite service cuts and other reforms in the past three years that have saved $52 million annually.

State aid accounts for about half of the authority's budget, but is scheduled to decrease by $25 million because the federal government won't allow tolls on Interstate 80 that the state was counting on to fund transit.

The authority faces rising personnel and fuel expenses and doesn't want to raise fares for urban riders, whose per-rider costs are generally less than the $2 fare they pay. That means suburban riders might have to make up the difference.

"We'll be identifying rates to cut and setting fares sometime in July. Then what happens is, by law, we'll hold public hearings so the public can give feedback on all this. That would occur through the summer and changes could probably go into effect early next year," said Port Authority spokesperson, Jim Ritchie.

• E-Mail Newsletter: Get The Latest News Sent To Your E-Mail! • Mobile: Get WPXI Headlines On Your Phone, iPhone, More • RSS: Add Us To Your Page!