[PRCo] This Mornings Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

[Herb Brannon]

If this keeps up, heads will roll at PATransit.
Todays Trib Story:::::

Fitzgerald lambastes Port Authority for weekend train problems


By Tom Fontaine <tfontaine at tribweb.com>
Tribune-Review

 *Published:* Thursday, May 10, 2012, 11:52 a.m.
 Updated 5 hours ago

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald today ripped Port Authority for
flubbing service last weekend when the city hosted a heavily attended
Pirates game, Marilyn Manson concert and the Dick's Sporting Goods
Pittsburgh Marathon.

"The wait time and lack of service provided by the Port Authority this past
weekend to residents and visitors alike is absolutely inexcusable,"
Fitzgerald said.

"This agency must be responsive to its customers, and the recent problems
indicate to me that it is not the focus of the management."

Port Authority in March opened the $517 million North Shore Connector, a
1.2-mile extension of the T that connects Downtown and the North Shore.
Officials have long defended the controversial project by noting that the
service would complement booming development on the North Shore, including
construction of the Pirates' PNC Park and the Steelers' Heinz Field.

Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said that on Saturday the Port
Authority ran T light-rail trains about half as frequently as it normally
does on Saturdays, when service already is scaled back from weekdays. He
described a "mishmash of staffing problems," from retirements, training
requirements, drivers on military leave and routine call-offs because of
illness.

Only 68 workers are trained to operate T light-rail cars, so the agency
does "not have much cushion," Ritchie said. He conceded, however, that the
agency "could have done a better job to staff some of what was out of
service. We think it was handled poorly."

On Saturday, with tens of thousands of people attending the Pirates game,
the Marilyn Manson concert and an assortment of marathon-related
activities, some riders reported lengthy waits at crowded stations for
trains.

Staffing issues also prevented the Port Authority from increasing its
scaled-back Sunday service for the marathon. It planned to add one 170-seat
train into the rotation of 340-seat trains already scheduled to provide
service.

"That wouldn't have mattered too much if we had (added the one train).
There wasn't enough capacity to meet demand. A lot of people think we
should have added service. But it came down to money. We tried to throw out
as much service as we possibly could, as much as we could afford," Ritchie
said.

Fitzgerald said it wasn't enough.

"There is absolutely no valid explanation for why there was no planning or
preparation for this past weekend's influx of people into the city. It's
not as if the Pirates' schedule, the Stage AE concert or the Pittsburgh
Marathon were a surprise to anyone," said Fitzgerald, who also said the
agency needs to improve signage so people can more easily find stations and
do a better job of informing T riders when to expect the next train.

"This will be fixed either within the existing structure or with changes
from the top to the bottom," Fitzgerald said.


-- 
Herb Brannon
In Cuyahoga Valley National Park