Shapiro’s state budget falls far short of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s needs to avoid service cuts, fare hikes and layoffs

Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s push for a hefty increase in state subsidy to avoid serious service cuts appears to have gotten off to a slow start.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed budget Tuesday called for essentially the same increase that failed to win legislative approval last year: a 1.75% hike in the allocation of funds from the Pennsylvania Public Transportation Trust Fund for the next five years. Currently, the fund gets 4.4% of the sales tax revenue in the state, and the governor’s proposal would increase that to 6.15%, generating about $292 million a year more for five years.

In the runup to his budget address last year, Shapiro put a special emphasis on the need for an increase in transit funding by announcing the proposed increase in a news release a week before his formal budget proposal. This year, despite pressure from agencies and a statewide coalition of transit advocates for a bigger increase, he barely mentioned transit in his 90-minute budget address other than to say, “My budget delivers to keep our mass transit running all across the Commonwealth.”

Last year, the proposal would have raised $282.2 million annually, about $39 million of which would have been for PRT. That amount would be slightly higher this year because of an increase in the amount of sales tax revenue collected, but it would be nowhere near the $117 million increase CEO Katharine Eagan Kelleman has been telling legislators the agency needs to avoid “devasting” service cuts, fare increases and employee layoffs.

The agency’s annual subsidy of about $290 million hasn’t increased in more than 10 years. PRT was able to maintain most of its service despite severe ridership drops during the COVID-19 pandemic because it received several hundred million dollars in federal emergency funds, but that money is running out.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, which serves Philadelphia and surrounding counties, already has exhausted its special federal funding. Shapiro shifted money from road and bridge projects in November to give SEPTA $153.4 million to stave off impending service cuts and fare increases until this year’s budget process.

PRT spokesman Adam Brandolph wouldn’t say whether the agency was disappointed in the budget proposal, but he noted it is projecting a $100.5 million deficit in the budget scheduled for adoption in June.

“At this very early stage, we know there is going to be a lot of discussion going on,” he said. “We look forward to having those discussions.”

State Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll said in an interview Tuesday that he believed the agencies could “get by” with the funding the state has proposed. Although Senate Republicans reneged on a promise last year to deal directly with transit funding after approving the budget, Carroll said he believes support from chambers of commerce across the state could change that this year.

“I don’t get all heated up over this number or that number in the budget proposal. I know it’s a process,” said Carroll, who spent more than a decade as a state representative. “I’m going to remain optimistic that we are going to be able to get this approved.

 “When chambers of commerce highlight the need to fund transit, that’s a good sign.”

Neither Republican nor Democratic legislative leaders were available to discuss the transit proposal.

A statewide coalition of transit advocacy groups known as Transit for All PA, which includes Pittsburghers for Public Transit, had lobbied Shapiro for months to make transit funding a key part of his budget proposal.

Connor Descheemaker, statewide campaign manager for Transit for All PA left no doubt on his feelings about Shapiro’s proposal. Descheemaker said SEPTA would get about $165 million of the $213 million it says it needs, PRT a little over $40 million of $117 million.

“Think about those gaps. They are pretty large,” Descheemaker said. “We’ve got to get serious about transit funding. We’ve got to think bigger.”

Overall, Shapiro’s budget calls for spending $51.5 billion, up 9% from the current plan with no call for a tax increase. To help pay for it, Shapiro recommended legalizing marijuana for adults and taxing electronic games of chance in bars, restaurants and other facilities.