When the Port Authority Board approved a new budget at the end of last month, members warned that serious service cuts and fare hikes would be necessary unless more state funding was forthcoming. Transit agency officials today unveiled the details of those service cuts.
Port Authority proposes reducing bus and T service by 35 percent.
PAT CEO Steve Bland says weekday service would be eliminated on 41 routes, Saturday service on 28 routes and Sunday service on 23 routes. The total number of routes in the system would be reduced from 129 to 85. That translates to an overall cut of 35% of bus and "T" service.
According to Bland, about 90 neighborhoods throughout the agency's coverage area would lose public transit service entirely or face a significant loss of service.
Bland says more than 500 jobs would have to be cut including operators, maintenance workers, supervisors and administrative employees.
The proposal calls for increasing the fare for Zones 1 and 2 and creating a premium price of $4 on light rail service and 13 express bus routes.
The public comment period via e-mail and regular mail runs from July 28 to August 31. The PAT Board will hold a public hearing August 19th at the Convention Center from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The board will vote on the service and fare changes September 24 and they would take effect in January.
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