Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s board voted to start a public comment period on potential, dramatic changes in service and a fare hike. The comment period will start Monday and run  through Wednesday, June 18. Public comments will be accepted in writing or at hearings for which dates and times have yet to be announced.

The vote follows a committee meeting last week at which PRT board members heard details of changes that might be necessitated with flat state funding. The state faces a challenging budget process involving Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat-led House and a Republican-led Senate.

The PRT’s vital statistics:

• One-third drop in ridership from 2019 levels
• $502.5 million in federal pandemic-driven aid exhausted
• $50 million deficit this year
• $100 million deficit next year if state funding is flat
• $360 million in reserves — enough to cover three years of deficits
• $40 million increase in state aid (13% over current levels) offered in Shapiro’s proposed budget
• $117 million increase in state funding — a 39% hike — sought to maintain current service.

The potential changes, if state funding is flat:

• 8% to 9% fare increases, including base fare boost to $3, from $2.75
• 20% boost in ACCESS paratransit fares with service area cut in half
• 41 of roughly 100 bus routes, plus the T Silver Line, eliminated
• 50 or more bus routes, plus the T Red Line and the Mon Incline, reduced in service, length or both
• 19 municipalities and three Pittsburgh neighborhoods left with no service
• No extra service for special events
• 35% reduction in overall hours that bus, light rail and incline operate
• 20% loss of riders anticipated.

The governor and General Assembly face a June 30 statutory deadline to finalize a budget for the 2026 fiscal year, though the state has missed that deadline in the past.

Rich Lord is the managing editor of PublicSource, and can be reached at rich@publicsource.org.

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Transit cuts and fare boost — if the state doesn’t hike aid — head for public comment period

by Rich Lord, Pittsburgh's Public Source
March 28, 2025

<h1>Transit cuts and fare boost — if the state doesn’t hike aid — head for public comment period</h1> <p class="byline">by Rich Lord, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />March 28, 2025</p> <p>Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s board voted to start a public comment period on potential, dramatic changes in service and a fare hike. The comment period will start Monday and run&nbsp; through Wednesday, June 18. Public comments will be accepted <a href="https://www.rideprt.org/2025-funding-crisis/make-your-voice-heard/">in writing or at hearings</a> for which dates and times have yet to be announced.</p> <p>The vote follows a committee meeting last week at which <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/prt-pittsburgh-regional-transit-bus-route-cuts-funding-state-budget/">PRT board members heard details</a> of changes that might be necessitated with flat state funding. The state faces a challenging budget process involving Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat-led House and a Republican-led Senate.</p> </p> <p>The PRT’s vital statistics:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>One-third drop in ridership from 2019 levels</li> <li>$502.5 million in federal pandemic-driven aid exhausted</li> <li>$50 million deficit this year</li> <li>$100 million deficit next year if state funding is flat</li> <li>$360 million in reserves — enough to cover three years of deficits</li> <li>$40 million increase in state aid (13% over current levels) offered in Shapiro’s proposed budget</li> <li>$117 million increase in state funding — a 39% hike — sought to maintain current service.</li> </ul> <p>The potential changes, if state funding is flat:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>8% to 9% fare increases, including base fare boost to $3, from $2.75</li> <li>20% boost in ACCESS paratransit fares with service area cut in half</li> <li>41 of roughly 100 bus routes, plus the T Silver Line, eliminated</li> <li>50 or more bus routes, plus the T Red Line and the Mon Incline, reduced in service, length or both</li> <li>19 municipalities and three Pittsburgh neighborhoods left with no service</li> <li>No extra service for special events</li> <li>35% reduction in overall hours that bus, light rail and incline operate</li> <li>20% loss of riders anticipated.</li> </ul> <p>The governor and General Assembly face a June 30 statutory deadline to finalize a budget for the 2026 fiscal year, though the state has missed that deadline in the past.</p> <p><em>Rich Lord is the managing editor of PublicSource, and can be reached at </em><a href="mailto:rich@publicsource.org"><em>rich@publicsource.org</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-regional-transit-bus-light-rail-potential-cuts-public-comment-pennsylvania-allegheny/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1317047&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-regional-transit-bus-light-rail-potential-cuts-public-comment-pennsylvania-allegheny/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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