A state audit released Thursday identified problems Pittsburgh Regional Transit already knew: Ridership is down due to the pandemic, hiring is a difficult problem, and federal stimulus funds and agency reserves will run out in 2028 unless there are funding changes.
Auditor General Timothy DeFoor released the 68-page report at a news conference in Downtown Pittsburgh. It found no fraud or financial discrepancies, but it cited the agency’s slow ridership recovery after the pandemic (65%), hiring and the lack of sustainable funding for the future as concerns the agency should address.
“It’s an ongoing challenge in these areas,” DeFoor said, adding the agency is aware and trying to deal with them.
CEO Katharine Eagan Kelleman said the agency agrees with the audit and nine recommendations DeFoor outlined, which mostly deal with setting up continuous methods to monitor all of those areas. She cited the agency’s systemwide study of bus routes announced Thursday as one of the efforts to deal with ridership and service concerns.
In an interview after the news conference, Chief Communications Officer Jim Ritchie noted that the problems DeFoor cited aren’t unique to PRT.
“These are all serious issues across our industry,” he said.
The agency also has increased recruiting efforts and offered hiring incentives to boost manpower and has been pushing for approval of an increase in transit’s share of the Pennsylvania Public Transportation Trust Fund, which is awaiting final approval in the state Senate.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.