[PRCo] Re: pat

[John Swindler]

And there is an election in a couple weeks.




>From: Jim Holland <prcopcc at p-r-co.com>
>Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>To: "- *-> JBH Prototype <-* -" <PRCoPCC at P-R-Co.com>
>Subject: [PRCo] pat
>Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 10:18:29 -0700
>
>Pittsburgh  Tribune Review
>
>Port Authority Pay
>
>Thursday, October 19, 2006
>
>I am surprised that Allegheny County Councilman Matt Drozd sees the Port
>Authority's salary figures as "outrageous" ("Port Authority defends
>overtime
><http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/today/s_475133.html>,"
>Oct. 15 and PghTrib.com).
>
>What is wrong with earning a living wage to support your family and
>being paid for overtime if you elect to take it?       As to the
>management salaries, they would certainly be much higher in the private
>sector.
>
>Has Mr. Drozd forgotten that the $138 million in wage dollars that the
>Port Authority spends comes right back into the local economy?       The
>3,056 employees use that money to buy homes in this area.       They pay
>property taxes and sales tax.       They buy groceries, pay for dance
>class and sports registrations.       They pay for braces and car
>repairs.       They are your neighbors.       Perhaps, Mr. Drozd, your
>efforts would be better spent working on dedicated funding for the Port
>Authority because Allegheny County needs a transit system and
>decent-paying jobs and the Port Authority needs to pay people to come to
>work.
>
>Stephanie Zoffel
>Penn Hills
>
>http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_475633.html
>
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>Pittsburgh  Post-Gazette
>
>
>     Yellow cabs willing to pay to use busways
>
>Friday, October 20, 2006
>
>By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
>
>Buses that enjoy some of their own highways into Pittsburgh soon could
>be sharing them with taxis, vans and even commercial vehicles.
>
>The Pittsburgh Transportation Group, which includes more than 300 Yellow
>cabs, says it would like to use the Port Authority's exclusive busways
>and is willing to pay for the privilege.
>
>Yellow Cab Co. President Jamie Campolongo delivered the message to Dan
>Onorato yesterday when the county chief executive visited the company's
>North Side headquarters for lunch and "Driver Appreciation Day."
>
>Mr. Onorato is interested. And so is the Port Authority: "We'd certainly
>be glad to take a look at that,'' said authority spokesman Bob Grove.
>
>Mr. Campolongo said his cabs, airport limos, airport shuttle buses and
>ACCESS vehicles that run under Port Authority aegis could save time and
>money, improve transportation efficiency, save fuel and reduce pollution.
>
>In turn, he said, Pittsburgh Transportation Group would consider paying
>an annual fee similar to the $600 per vehicle and $1 per trip that it
>pays for operating access at Pittsburgh International Airport.
>
>The West Busway and Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway provide exclusive
>bypasses of the Fort Pitt and Squirrel Hill tunnels on the
>traffic-congested Parkway West and Parkway East, respectively.
>
>Mr. Onorato said he's not only receptive to the idea but it fits into
>his plans to maximize use of transportation facilities as part of
>public-private partnerships.
>
>"It sounds great in theory, but they'll have to be willing to pay," he
>said.
>
>"That's what we need to find out first. The Transportation Task Force
>(that he formed earlier this year) is looking at the matter," not only
>for Public Utility Commission-regulated vehicles like taxis but also for
>private companies like UPS and FedEx.
>
>Issues that would have to be settled besides fees that would provide a
>new source of revenue for the cash-strapped Port Authority include
>special operator training, liability insurance and possible new safety
>rules.
>
>Currently, 383 buses a weekday use the West Busway and about 956 buses a
>day use the East Busway.
>
>Mr. Campolongo said his company's drivers are already trained to
>authority standards and subject to some of the same rules, such as drug
>testing.
>
>He estimated using the West Busway to and from the airport could cut an
>average of 20 minutes off rush-hour trips and reduce cab fares by 20
>percent. The one-way taxi fare between the Pittsburgh Hilton and the
>airport is now about $32.50.
>
>Mr. Campolongo said comparable time and money savings could be achieved
>if ACCESS vehicles could use the busways. The door-to-door,
>advance-reservation rides are the most heavily subsidized service in the
>authority's operating budget.
>
>Mr. Campolongo said he approached authority officials about using the
>West Busway shortly after it was opened in 2000 but was told the extra
>traffic was not evaluated as part of an environmental impact statement
>needed to qualify for federal funding.
>
>Instead, Pittsburgh Transportation Group vehicles that serve 85 percent
>of passengers at the "commercial curbs" at the airport are stuck in --
>and contribute to -- the traffic jams on both sides of the Fort Pitt 
>Tunnel.
>
>"Going east is murder," Mr. Campolongo said, when cabs, vans and
>shuttles could be sharing the 9.3-mile East Busway to the eastern part
>of the city, Wilkinsburg, Edgewood and Swissvale.
>
>He said the company's approximately 600 vehicles, ranging from stretch
>limousines to full-size buses, log more than 30 million passenger miles
>a year.
>
>The taxis alone carry about 1 million riders.
>
>Pittsburgh Transportation Group owns and operates Embassy Coach, Yellow
>Cab, Pittsburgh Transportation Co., Checker Cab Co. and Express Shuttle 
>USA.
>
>Mr. Grove of the Port Authority said sharing the South Busway is
>probably out of the question because it's already crowded with buses and
>light-rail vehicles in a narrow corridor through South Hills Junction
>and the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel.
>
>http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06293/731526-147.stm
>
>
>
>

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