12,000 say no to bus cuts

As Allegheny County transit riders face what seem like inevitable service cuts and fare hikes to Port Authority service, many refuse to take the losses lying down. Scores of people gathered on the Allegheny County Courthouse steps March 7 for the Stop The Bus Cuts Campaign rally. The Stop The Bus Campaign, with members from organizations like SEIU, the League of Young Voters and ACORN, was able to draw nearly 100 people to the rally. The protesters also took their complaints directly to County Executive Dan Onorato when they stormed his office to present approximately 12,000 signed petitions against the cuts. “The purpose of that petition was to get across two key points,” said Khari Mosley of the League of Young Voters. “One being a call for a freeze to the bus cuts, the second is to ask County Executive Onorato to call for a freeze to the bus cuts as well as to show leadership and find a true solution to the transit problem, which is, establishing a dedicated source of funding for public transportation in the state of Pennsylvania.” The Port Authority of Allegheny County currently faces an $80 million deficit for the 2007-08 fiscal year. Several different plans have been introduced to close the gap and avoid the cuts—including a recent proposal by the Port Authority Union to change scheduling procedures that account for more than 15 percent of the transit system’s service hours. But in spite of ideas for cost-cutting measures, the Stop the Bus Campaign believes the only true solution to the Port Authority’s financial crisis is state funding. “The leadership in Harrisburg hasn’t in a real way addressed the issue, but what we are finding out is Philadelphia and Erie and other parts of the state are concerned about this issue and are not looking at it as a local issue, but as a state issue,” said Mosley. “They’re looking to our leadership in Harrisburg as a statewide coalition, saying, this is Pennsylvania’s problem—this is not Port Authority’s problem, this isn’t SEPTA’s problem and this isn’t Center County Transit’s problem. This is Pennsylvania’s problem.” Attendees at the rally stressed the idea of appealing to the state when they confronted Onorato with the petitions. Representatives with the Stop the Bus Cuts Campaign say Onorato received the petitions, as well as suggestions to lobby Harrisburg for funding, favorably, but most would like to see his words translate to actual deeds. “He had a positive reception, he said he would go to Harrisburg, but actions speak louder than words,” said 15-year-old Minrose Straussman, a Schenley High School student who said during a speech at the rally that the cuts would affect “every part” of her life. “I really hope he does follow through and go to Harrisburg and fight for our transit system.” “There’s no great city in this country, or even in the world for that matter, that doesn’t have a top notch public transit system. We feel the people of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County deserve that, particularly as we try to grow our region and bring it back to where it once was,” said Mosley. “We can’t afford these drastic cuts—they cost too much.”