Bus service in the North Hills is being reduced or eliminated effective Sept. 2 as a result of the drastic cuts Port Authority of Allegheny County officials made last week.
Paired with a series of rate increases set to take effect in July, the measures are intended to eliminate a $64 million deficit from the authority's $370.2 million budget.
Among the cuts are:
• McKnight Road Route 12 will have service reductions on weekdays, and the route will end at UPMC Passavant in McCandless. The route no longer will operate on Saturday or Sunday.
• Perrysville Route 8 will have service reductions.
• Mt. Royal Route 2 will be eliminated.
Overall, the transit system's service will be cut 35 percent, and that likely will mean a loss of rough-ly 40,000 of 225,000 daily riders, officials have said.
"The damage of the cuts, if they come about, is likely irreversible," said Port Authority CEO Stephen Bland.
Bland urged Port Authority board members and elected state officials to step up efforts to find a lasting solution to the authority's money woes so the service cut vote could be reversed.
Most of the fare in-creases would require riders to pay an additional 25 to 50 cents.
If nothing is done to avert the cuts, they could result in more than 500 layoffs.
Pat McMahon, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85, said his union's workers "are not ATMs" who can spit out an endless supply of salary and benefit concessions.
"It's time for the governor and the Legislature to do their part and summon the courage to protect this vital service," McMahon said.
Gov. Tom Corbett said last week the state would not bail out the Port Authority to stave off service reductions for another year as it has done in the past.
He said he hopes to address state transportation funding issues broadly sometime this year.
