House Majority Leader Mike Turzai said a bill that passed the state Senate last week would increase competition for the Port Authority of Allegheny County, but a private transportation company that stands to benefit said the legislation does not change anything.

The bill sponsored by Turzai, R-Bradford Woods, and Mark Mustio, R-Moon, allows private transit companies that want to offer routes within Allegheny County to apply to the Pennsylvania Utilities Commission for approval rather than to the Port Authority, as law now requires.

“You’re going to see areas that have not been served or that have been underserved ultimately get some service,” Turzai said. “Eliminating a transit monopoly is a win-win for taxpayers and transit riders.”

Monroeville officials are hoping to maintain bus service east of the Monroeville Mall, which includes a stop at the Community College of Allegheny County Boyce Campus.

“If another bus company has a route that takes students here, that’s a great thing,” said Chuck Martoni, president of CCAC Boyce and Allegheny County Council. “Competition is what made America great.”

The law that created Port Authority gave it exclusive rights to provide transit service in the county and required other prospective operators to seek permission from the authority.

In 2007, Port Authority gave blanket permission for regional transportation providers to pick up and drop off passengers in areas where the organization has offered service, said Heather Pharo, spokesperson for the Port Authority.

“Our policy has been that we have granted approvals to the various private entities that have asked to provide service,” she said.

Charles Lenzner, owner of Ohio Township-based Lenzner Coach Lines, which provides some services similar to Port Authority’s, said getting the Port Authority’s permission hasn’t been the problem; it’s the ability for competitors to turn a profit.

Lenzner, which began service to Marshall and Franklin Park in March 2011, discontinued its Franklin Park route six months later because it was not making money.

But turning a profit could get easier for competitors as Port Authority officials plan to slash service Sept. 2 by 35 percent, the largest service cuts in its 48-year history. The authority faces a $64 million budget deficit, and unlike Gov. Ed Rendell before him, Gov. Tom Corbett has said he will not extend a last-minute bailout to the authority.

“The real issue here is additional state funding for our entire transportation system,” said state Rep. Joe Markosek, (D-Monroeville).

Three park-and-ride lots in Monroeville are scheduled for elimination, which would affect nearly 500 riders, Pharo said. But a reduction of bus service is just one aspect of the region’s infrastructure problems, Markosek said.

“Unless we decide to bite the bullet and grapple with it, we’re going to have even more problems in the future.”

Bus cuts

The following Monroeville bus services are scheduled for elimination in September.

• P67 Monroeville Mall Park n Ride

• P12 Alpine Village Park n Ride

• P12 Holiday Park Volunteer Fire Department Park n Ride

• 67 Monroeville, east of Monroeville Mall.

• 77 Penn Hills

• All service after 10 p.m.

• Undetermined service reductions on the weekend.

• All ACCESS routes, which service riders who qualify under the American Disabilities Act.

Copyright ©2026— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)