A Port Authority consultant hired to retool the agency's clunky and costly network of bus routes has zeroed in on several problems that waste money and turn away riders, officials said Friday.
"I think there's tremendous room for improvement," said Geoff Slater, project manager for San Francisco-based NelsonNygaard Consulting Associates. "I think we can provide more service without producing more cost."
Revamping bus routes, a project dubbed Connect 09, is intended to make the bus network simpler, cheaper and more attractive to potential riders.
Among Slater's key findings:
• Bus routes are too complicated and overly specialized : The authority's 187 bus routes have more than 1,400 variations. Some routes carry too few passengers to specific locations rather than providing more frequent service to larger population and work bases.
• Overlapping service : Too many routes follow the same roads, often at the same time.
• Too many bus stops : There are 16,000, which slows service and costs money.
• Winding routes : Bus routes too often are drawn up in an attempt to provide service as close to riders' homes as possible, making trips slow, long and costly.
• Irregular service : Buses often do not run past stops at regular intervals, making it difficult for patrons to remember when service is available.
The Port Authority released these findings at a critical time in the agency's history.
Negotiators for the authority and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85, which represents 2,200 drivers, mechanics and clerks, could meet next week to renew labor talks after failing to agree on a contract proposed by a state fact-finder.
County Chief Executive Dan Onorato told members of the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce that the transit agency, which struggles with chronic deficits and skyrocketing labor costs, has a bleak future if a contract is not reached.
A strike or shutdown of bus and T service remains a possibility if negotiations fail.
"Is there a good possibility if nothing changes that service will be stopped by the end of the year?" Onorato said. "Yes. I don't know how it will be stopped or why it will be stopped but I can tell you the Port Authority will be out of money under the existing terms."
The authority hired NelsonNygaard to assess its service problems and recommend solutions. Riders will get a look at the recommended changes after they're drafted in February.
Some will embrace the changes if they meet the authority's goals of providing simpler, more reliable and faster service.
"I think what a lot of us who ride the buses do is wonder, 'How could this particular route be run better?' " said John Tague, a transit advocate.
Yet, authority officials acknowledge that Slater's recommendations will be controversial.
"If everybody's happy then you haven't done your job," said authority board member Jim Dodaro.
The changes should be final in April and implemented by fall 2009.
