Since it appears we are discussing Port Authority (PAT is the old acronym, but let's use it here) funding and service cutbacks, it makes sense to mention a few basic facts that need to be understood. -PAT is not an agency of the City of Pittsburgh. PAT is a county-owned, state-funded agency. -In 2007, PA Auditor General Jack Wagner audited PAT - there were 5 major findings: 1. PAT is primarily funded by the state, but the state has no representation on the board. 2. PAT wasted $15 million to lease prime downtown office space - after spending ~$5 million to renovate space it *owned* in Manchester - the latter remaining empty. 3. PAT historically has been compensating executives on a staggering, astronomical scale. For example, former CEO Paul Skoutelas receives $9k/month as a pension...and many other examples abound. 4. PAT ineffectively planned, budgeted, and managed major capital projects (such as the North Shore Connector). 5. PAT has done a good job generating advertising revenues with an in-house crew (good!) The full audit findings are here: http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Reports/Performance/Special/PortAuthAllegh... PAT Service reductions on the scale being described will cripple our regional economy. Many folks depend on public transportation for work, education, and medical services. In HP, we are talking about having to go to Stanton and Negley to get into town. At least we will still have a route, however remote from our doorsteps...but in a great many areas of Allegheny County, there will be no routes at all. This is going to be nothing short of a disaster. Our region is not only powered by those who barrel into town in Range Rovers and cry about taxes, it is also powered by workers who NEED to ride a bus into the city. PAT needs money to operate. Ed Rendell is using the last portion of his term of office to campaign for transportation funding. He tried to toll I-80...no go. He has been proposing VERY FAIR gasoline and vehicle licensing taxes...no go. He has been outlining a tax on oil profits...success there is extremely unlikely. In my opinion, the best thing we can do is to lend support to one or all of these ideas. In PA (and also in Allegheny County), we have bent over backwards to keep suburban motor commuters happy, while services such as PAT face dramatic and debilitating cuts. Vociferous opposition to a few cents a gallon cannot win out any longer. It is time for us to support initiatives that fund the services that most regular people depend on every day - public transportation, library systems, education, public safety and infrastructure, and the like. Ed Rendell is not going around the state begging for more taxes because he finds it thrilling. He is doing it because we're amidst a severe funding crisis. If we want to support public transportation in Western PA, we need to support initiatives that define new sources of revenue immediately.