Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Pitt’s Logic Misses the Bus
For nearly ten years, students from the University of Pittsburgh have been able to ride Port Authority (PAT) buses for a deeply discounted rate. The students only had to show their University ID cards to use the bus system and Pitt would reimburse PAT $0.58 per ride. The contract is up for renewal this August and negotiations to date have been “cautiously pessimistic” according to a PAT lawyer.
No doubt the sharply reduced rate was agreed upon by PAT to boost sagging ridership numbers. Ridership and use of the public transit system had been declining for decades—even the most recent rise in gasoline prices has not helped substantially. No doubt the relationship between PAT and the local universities (Carnegie-Mellon also has such an agreement that reimburses PAT $0.52 per ride) had been mutually beneficial.
However, PAT now finds itself in deep financial trouble and unable to keep offering the discounts they would like to raise the rate of reimbursement for each university. They have asked Pitt to pay $1 per ride—still below the average rate of $1.24 that all riders pay, and well below the actual cost of riding the bus which is being generously picked up by taxpayers. Pitt has responded by offering $0.65 per ride.
While the pace of the negotiations is troubling—it’s the attitude of the University that causes concern. A spokesman for Pitt remarked the bus program has been “very important for reducing congestion and helping the environment.” Wrapping themselves in the cloak of environmentalism only emphasizes their hypocrisy—they’re concerned about the environment as long as someone else foots the bill. If officials at the University actually believed in this message, they would be more willing to pay the full cost—not just the reduced cost offered by PAT—of bus rides for their students. Pitt does charge their students a “transportation fee” presumably to cover the cost of this program. If the program were to be stopped, would they pass the savings on to the student body—it’s highly unlikely. Higher education continues to sink to new lows.
No doubt the sharply reduced rate was agreed upon by PAT to boost sagging ridership numbers. Ridership and use of the public transit system had been declining for decades—even the most recent rise in gasoline prices has not helped substantially. No doubt the relationship between PAT and the local universities (Carnegie-Mellon also has such an agreement that reimburses PAT $0.52 per ride) had been mutually beneficial.
However, PAT now finds itself in deep financial trouble and unable to keep offering the discounts they would like to raise the rate of reimbursement for each university. They have asked Pitt to pay $1 per ride—still below the average rate of $1.24 that all riders pay, and well below the actual cost of riding the bus which is being generously picked up by taxpayers. Pitt has responded by offering $0.65 per ride.
While the pace of the negotiations is troubling—it’s the attitude of the University that causes concern. A spokesman for Pitt remarked the bus program has been “very important for reducing congestion and helping the environment.” Wrapping themselves in the cloak of environmentalism only emphasizes their hypocrisy—they’re concerned about the environment as long as someone else foots the bill. If officials at the University actually believed in this message, they would be more willing to pay the full cost—not just the reduced cost offered by PAT—of bus rides for their students. Pitt does charge their students a “transportation fee” presumably to cover the cost of this program. If the program were to be stopped, would they pass the savings on to the student body—it’s highly unlikely. Higher education continues to sink to new lows.
