Submitted by MrATLien t3_10l6ord in pittsburgh
Comments
MrATLien OP t1_j5v2b0q wrote
Do you remember the degree to which service was restored, if at all? Especially wrt frequency. Every 10 minutes reduced to every 30 minutes sounds absolutely brutal.
Independent_Apple159 t1_j5v4sq4 wrote
To be honest, I only paid attention to the routes and timing that affected me. I know the routes that were eliminated didn't come back, but there were some different routes were added over time. I don't know if they replaced the routes that were eliminated or if they were completely new. I do know of one completely new route in my area, but can't speak to those further out. Frequency did return. Before the pandemic most of the routes I took were back to every 10 minutes during rush hour, but spaced out more during off times. I'm not sure if that's how they were before the cuts, though. I went from taking the bus at rush hour to get to and from work before the cuts to being retired and taking the bus at different times.
MrATLien OP t1_j5v68fo wrote
Good to know.
Jumpy-Natural4868 t1_j5vffzj wrote
it all depends on the local transit agency, political support, and their source of funding. It can change depending on where you are in the state.
rangoon03 t1_j5wt55v wrote
Not much. They brought back some trips and variations cut. But not wholesale restorations. This was done pre-COVID, but they were hampered by a lack of buses to restore service and out of room at their existing active garages to acquire more buses. Then, they pretty much used every bus they had available during peak periods. Of course since then ridership levels have tanked.
mikeyHustle t1_j5vckbr wrote
I remember that the big dreams and projections they had for new transit layouts all got put on hold, service got destroyed, and they're *still* trying to figure out how to do the plans they cancelled in 2008.
44problems t1_j5xobke wrote
Yeah wasn't there a Transit Development Plan around then that pretty much went out the window? Get ready for the BRT plan to be even more scaled back.
KermieJagger t1_j5uzkky wrote
I don’t see how there won’t be massive cuts given the large shift to remote work that will never completely go back to the way it was. Even if 90% of downtown workers return to their offices (unlikely), that leaves a 10% reduction in revenue which is huge.
MrATLien OP t1_j5v2jle wrote
The ideal is shifting to an environment where people are using transit for things like shopping, errands, etc. That kind of ridership hasn't declined really, it's just that we had previously built transit systems around getting people to their jobs
KermieJagger t1_j5v4f4m wrote
Yep! So maybe they cut some of the commuter schedules heading into town but keep the routes that run between smaller communities, shopping areas, etc…
ClammyHandedFreak t1_j5vr20y wrote
The ideal has never stopped us before!
chuckie512 t1_j5vl4b5 wrote
Less than a quarter of PRT's revenue, pre covid, came from the farebox
dirtymetz17 t1_j5ux5mx wrote
When Covid funds run out, the world burns. This is just peeking behind the curtain.
ktxhopem3276 t1_j5v0hbo wrote
Republicans would rather watch the world burn than raise taxes to fund basic government services. They are in the House of Representatives proposing 25% across the board funding cuts for discretionary spending in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.
Upbeat_Estimate1501 t1_j5vwtmi wrote
Fuck a duck. Okay so I'm moving there later this year and saw some posts but didn't put two and two together until right now.
As of now it depends on where you live. Some neighborhoods have great access with frequent bus service. As you stray further away from those that service the universities that tapers off. I've lived close to CMU, Shadyside, and now on outskirts of the city where I don't have the same level of access. Each move has definitely seen a reduction the further away from hotspots, relying on Uber hasn't always been great. This is a car city, and not set up for biking well. Bus is the main transit mode with the T only servicing portions of the city.
I don't see SEPTA getting THIS bad (at least not for years) but it's a gradual reduction of stops over the course of years. They hack away a few stops at a time, typically choosing which they think are used the least I think and reducing stops and spacing them out or eventually eliminating them completely.
MrATLien OP t1_j5wkden wrote
I wouldn't say SEPTA is trying to "cynically" do anything - it's not like they want to cut service. Realistically, their fares can only pay for like, 30% of their operating budget right now. That's about par for the course for big American city transit agencies. Right now because of post covid shifts in travel trends etc., that 30% has been whittled down significantly, so without PA increasing the amount they contribute to SEPTA, they'll have no choice but to cut service. I can only assume PRT is in a similar situation financially.
Upbeat_Estimate1501 t1_j5wpc7o wrote
I need to get a lot more involved in public transit activism honestly, it's been something sort of on the brain for a while I just haven't and probably will look into it after the move.
There definitely haven't been fare hikes or anything -- the opposite actually, so we can say that at least. And even the service reductions come after they've been slowly cut over time. I'd be curious to compare to what MTA or New Jersey would be doing as well.
MrATLien OP t1_j5wysu5 wrote
I hate to be pessimistic, but given the massive budget shortfalls of the vast majority of American transit agencies, the future has never looked more bleak for them. At least not in my lifetime.
There's a good chance that in 3 years or so, any transit agency that doesn't get a permanent funding source from its state will look back at 2023 even as "the good old days". Given that even a state like CA is mulling transit cuts, I'm not optimistic for PA at all.
Confident_End_3848 t1_j5wn0ls wrote
Look at when they close garages. When PAT closed the Harmar garage, a whole swath of routes where gone and never coming back.
ToonMaster21 t1_j5yjnlk wrote
How long until COVID relief runs out? I would have assumed over a course of 3 years that would have happened already.
sebileis t1_j5v4ksq wrote
Sometimes I swear PRT goes out of their way to cut routes and stops, good funding or not.
[deleted] t1_j5vccrc wrote
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leadfoot9 t1_j5ycp18 wrote
We will never have good transit as long as the Feds keep bending over backwards to accommodate and subsidize car owners.
oH nO gAs PrIcEs ArE jUsT aS hIgH aS tHeY wErE uNdEr BuSh!
And then Amtrak Joe opens up the oil reserves with his tail between his legs.
Independent_Apple159 t1_j5v1wbu wrote
I remember the last round of cuts. I'm lucky - I live in an urban area and commuted to a large university, where I was on staff. But even in my area, we had several routes eliminated. And the ones that survived cut stops. Buses that used to stop every 10 minutes came once every 30 minutes or even longer. For riders at the far ends of lines or on lines that don't get a lot of use, it's a real problem. Those are the routes that get terminated.