PAT Down

I did not get the opportunity to vent my frustrations at PAT yesterday or today for the simple reason that I, like many others, work for a living. Looking at the proposed meeting schedule, I can only assume that it was designed by someone who is not similarly encumbered.

Let me put it this way: if the Port Authority of Allegheny County increases rates or slashes routes, it won't affect me much. I'll just end up driving a little more, car pooling, biking, or walking. I'm lucky like that and I'm sure that a large portion of my readership is just as lucky.

But instead, put yourself in the place of someone who isn't as lucky as us. Suppose you're someone who doesn't have the choice or the opportunity for multiple modes of transportation. Suppose your only real option is public transit. Suppose you're not lucky enough to have the kind of job that allows you to commute into town, or Moon, or Castle Shannon to complain. It seems silly to exclude, what I can only assume is, a large segment of the ridership from making their voice publicly heard.

Or, perhaps, it is a calculated move: this is not really the most politically savvy or organized cohort we're talking about. We don't need to worry about those kinds of people.

Still, my guess is that the true impact of these cuts won't be felt by people like me, but rather by people in the poorer areas who's only means of transportation is the bus or employers seeking cheap transportation for their low wage earners.

But, hey, it's not going to affect us, eh?

Tag(s): PAT