Port Authority CEO: Transit cuts, fare increase inevitable without state help Read more: Port Authority CEO: Transit cu

Service cuts and fare increases are inevitable next year if the state doesn't increase funding to Port Authority of Allegheny County, and it won't matter what concessions the transit agency's largest union makes, CEO Steve Bland said this morning.

"We're getting less funding from the state and county government now than we were seven years ago," Bland said in an interview with reporters after a Port Authority board of directors meeting Downtown. "If the state doesn't act, there will be service cuts, there will be fare increases regardless of what the union does."

Bland acknowledged the transit agency's prospects for additional help from lawmakers in Harrisburg dimmed last month when Gov. Tom Corbett said increasing transportation funding isn't among his priorities this year. Corbett said he's hesitant to increase fees on vehicles and drivers — a recommendation from his transit advisory commission — that would help boost funding by up to $2.7 billion over five years.

Read more: Port Authority CEO: Transit cuts, fare increase inevitable without state help - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_764944.html#ixzz1cTnWYMk9