This morning, however, Allegheny County's decline and failures could not be ignored. A few years after County Executive Dan Onorato claimed to have saved the county's mass transit system (at the cost of a job-killing
drink tax), many of PAT's buses stopped running over the weekend.These buses were not stopped consequent to a prudent pruning of unneeded routes. Some of the terminated routes had been popular, featuring full loads of riders traveling to work, to school, to appointments, or to stores. Others had constituted the sole service to entire communities. These engines of livelihood and mobility were still this morning because this region is running out of the fumes on which it has been running for decades.
Decades of failure and inadequacy -- among voters, PAT directors and managers, elected officials, union leaders, and others -- were crystalized during a futile burst of last-minute wrangling and haranguing. The current strategy is to preserve service for the City of Pittsburgh, but focusing on the rotting core seems an unsustainable trajectory.
This morning, Allegheny County has admitted, by action, that it can no longer manage to operate buses full of residents bound for work. The broad harm is composed of countless individual tragedies -- the teenager locked into the stifling confines of a dying town, the senior citizen unable to reach her physician, the secretary forced to recalculate whether work is worthwhile. It is time for the region's cheerleaders to take a break long enough to look at the scoreboard, and past time for the region to field leaders rather than cheerleaders.
Infinonytune: One Of Us, Joan Osborne
21 comments:
I'd say it's time for you to run against the Onoratos & Ravenstahls. Don't just run a blog - get in there and do something about this mess. You probably should't count on the city Dems endorsement though.
You know, if the same person who is going all rah-rah about unions is also complaining about the one person who stuck his neck out to get the most imperiled local union more money, I'm not seeing a good future for the local union leadership.
Yes it was typical folly how the drink tax was sold as a transit fix and then used to plug one (of many) budget holes whilst public transit now withers away -- but a "job-killing" drink tax? Really? That's boilerplate conservative invective, and invoking it is a scorched earth tactic with zero strategic value besides spite at this point. (Unless you are truly one who disfavors job-killing tobacco taxes, job-killing extraction taxes, job-killing capital gains taxes...)
That's boilerplate conservative invective
The liquor tax was stupid because the whole of PA liquor policy is designed to hide how much tax is paid on liquor and the poured drink tax was done so that it couldn't be hidden as well. But, compared to the other actors in this mess, including the union leadership, Onorato isn't doing badly.
Confused about MH's first comment. Who are you talking about?
Co-sign with Anon 10:29--> disappointed to see the job-killing rhetoric here.
Re MH's second comment and the original post-- what version of the events are you all referring to? In the "futile burst of last-minute wrangling" every relevant actor BUT Onorato and Bland were making serious attempts (with real concession offers) to prevent this tragedy. (ie, Allegheny County reps, County Council and the union)
I'd hoped to at least see mention of the fact that the PAT Board voted to authorize private operation of two lines just after they approved the cuts.
I"m seeing that public transit may be were I break with this blog. Disappointed.
Crystal, my first comment was directed at Infi's criticism of Onorato's drink tax. Nobody else has done anything to increase the long term funding for the PAT. To be fair, I really don't like the drink tax either, but I'm not going around comparing public sector union jobs to sweatshops without fire escapes.
In the "futile burst of last-minute wrangling" every relevant actor BUT Onorato and Bland were making serious attempts...
No. These cuts have been months coming and there was no offer of concessions until 48 hours before the cuts were to take effect. That isn't enough time to plan or shift a plan already in motion. Even then, the concessions didn't shift on retiree healthcare or work rules. The former is what is killing the PAT's budget and the later is what makes it hard to adjust.
PAT's current situation is bad. Nearly every relevant entity -- directors, management, union, workers, elected officials (state and local), voters -- has participated in arranging the current situation.
A legitimate, viable metropolitan area needs a functioning mass transit (rapid transit would be nice, but we must settle for mass transit at the moment) system. Like public schools, the transit system in these parts is in danger of becoming inadequate, a precursor to catastrophic decline.
A crucial service is being dismantled because of regional failure. Transit is not a luxury, especially for people with few resources. As people with opportunities and education and resources have left this region, the "lacking resources" element is concentrated among the remaining population. The hobbling of PAT will inflict pain on many county residents.
County residents should recognize this profound loss as a wake-up call that belies the pathetic happy talk peddled by politicians, civic "leaders" and casual writers.
Broad-based taxes are, in general, the better course. (The property tax debacle indicates "fairly applied" is a necessary modifier.) The factors that might recommend a single-industry tax seemed inapplicable to the Allegheny County drink tax.
A 10 percent drink tax was bad policy. Claiming it would save PAT was stupid. Claiming it was related to PAT was a lie.
losing track of who is criticizing who here but ..... great song choice, Infy!!
PS-Infy is right, these cuts are bad juju and everybody in this whole deal blows
That's actually not true, the union has made concessions on retiree healthcare in the last contract. (last two contracts). Additionally, they've been offering a couple different budget solutions for months.
To say that the union and transit advocates have not been willing to come to the table to find real solutions is just wrong. The union and rider advocates have been agitating for a dedicated funding solution for at least the last six years.
They made concessions on retiree healthcare, but not concessions that would keep pace with how fast the costs have been rising.
The union and rider advocates have been agitating for a dedicated funding solution for at least the last six years.
That is true. And they suck at it. I still don't get the "We'll somehow get more money from the Republicans after the crash has cut the state budget than we did from the Democrats before the economy tanked" strategy.
So far, we're union bashers, conservative boilerplaters, union cheerleaders and (our favorite) the preferred solution.
Reminds us of a Mark Knopfler line: "Two men say they're Jesus, one of them must be wrong."
Even worse, you sound like the kind of person who puts oregano in pasta sauce.
MH, to your 11:37 comment, well that's the point isn't it. The union and advocates on their own weren't capable of moving Harrisburg. When local leaders refuse to collaborate or LEAD toward a real solution, this is the kind of bankrupt government we get.
Given that the union's main goal was to spend what money we did get as quickly as possible, I'm happier with the local PAT leaders than I am with the union.
too bad that was the choice. It didn't have to be.
Neither the union nor the PAT board ever contacted me about my plan to sell beer from coolers on the buses. If 10% of riders bought a beer and they got $2 profit from each beer, that would be nearly $25 million a year even if you only count work days.
Thanks for the song. Waiting for your update based on this afternoons developments...
And for my next challenge, may I suggest some Led Zepplin or perhaps you could find a use for Grateful Dead?
Grateful Dead? Again?
We'll try.
Based on a recent conversation about a particular elected official the line "living on reds, vitamin c and cocaine, all a friend can say is ain't if a shame" came naturally to mind.
Today's Infytune is excellent, very well done!
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