[PRCo] From This Mornings Pgh Post Gazette

[Herb Brannon]

The ire of the Allegheny County Government has now been raised. I'm not so
sure, however, that Mr. Fitzgerald really knows how public transport works.
He has the idea of "finding" an empty bus running around somewhere in the
county and sending it off-route to handle a crowd somewhere else in the
county. Easier said than done. As usual he failed to mention "dedicated
funding" as a cure for the problem.
TodaysPPG Article:::::

Fitzgerald vows to fix weekend T problems
May 10, 2012 9:49 am
    By Jon Schmitz / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald vowed today that transit
problems that caused major delays for riders over the weekend will be fixed.

"This problem is going to get solved. If it can't get solved by the people
who are here, we'll find people who can solve it," Mr. Fitzgerald said in a
phone interview.

He clearly was irate about reports that large numbers of riders waited 45
minutes or longer on crowded station platforms after the Pirates game on
Saturday night, when Light Rail Transit service was plagued by a shortage
of operators and trips were missed.

He also said the authority needs to redeploy service to better accommodate
large crowds after events. Jim Ritchie, authority spokesman, said this week
that the agency cannot afford to add service after major events as it has
in the past.

"I'm certain there were empty buses running somewhere in the county on
Saturday. They have to redeploy," Mr. Fitzgerald said. "We need to adjust
to the marketplace. They certainly get paid enough to know when the crowds
are going to require this service."

Pirates games on Saturday typically draw crowds of 30,000 or more, and
having inadequate service at the ballpark after more than $500 million was
invested extending the T there is "unacceptable," he said. "It's one of the
reasons we sold this to the public years and years ago."

Mr. Fitzgerald also was unhappy that no announcements or messages about
next-train arrivals were provided. That has been an ongoing problem during
breakdowns and other service interruptions on the T.

In addition to the Pirates game Saturday, there was a Marilyn Manson
concert at Stage AE and pre-Pittsburgh Marathon festivities.

Mr. Ritchie said a shortage of operators caused by various leaves and
illness kept 10 trains from their scheduled operations, including five
after 4 p.m. He said there was "no excuse" for the situation and that the
authority was working to correct it.

Today, Mr. Ritchie said "we're confident riders aren't going to experience
a repeat of last Friday and Saturday ... riders will see more service in
the system this coming weekend."

Mr. Fitzgerald also wants improvements to signage at the new stations. He
said people are having trouble finding them.

 Jon Schmitz: jschmitz at post-gazette.com or 412-263-1868.
First Published May 10, 2012 9:23 am


-- 
Herb Brannon
In Cuyahoga Valley National Park