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Wednesday, 17 August 2011 12:05

Written by Jon Schmitz

Traffic congestion. Dependence on foreign oil. Pollution.

All problems that public transit helps to alleviate, so ... why are we cutting it from coast to coast? Port Authority is hardly alone in raising fares and trimming routes. From the American Public Transportation Association:

Public transit systems are faced with implementing new service cuts and fare increases on top of cuts and increases enacted during the past budget cycle, according to a new study released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Nearly eighty percent of public transit systems have already implemented fare increases or service cuts in 2010 or are considering them for the future because of flat or decreased local and/or regional funding.

The report, "Impacts of the Recession on Public Transportation Agencies," noted the top three causes of stress in operating budgets among public transit systems were local/regional funding, state funding and increasing fuel prices.

Seventy-one percent of responding agencies saw flat or decreased local and/or regional funding, and 83 percent saw flat or decreased state funding. These decreases are on top of an already stagnant funding situation in 2010.

“Public transportation systems are currently experiencing decreases in their funding during a time when many are serving increased number of riders,” said APTA President William Millar. “Systems are forced to continue to freeze positions and lay off workers, which makes providing necessary transit service even more difficult.”

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