Rider-bereft Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) is offering discounted bulk transit passes in a six-month pilot program beginning April 3, reports the Tribune-Review.
The mass-transit agency, whose ridership remains a veritable ghost of what it was pre-pandemic, “is accepting applications from businesses and multifamily residential buildings for its new Bulk Pass Pilot Program, which would provide transit passes for employees or tenants at significant discounts.
“The pilot would allow businesses and multifamily residential buildings that are located within a half-mile of PRT service to buy passes in bulk for their employees or tenants. Businesses and buildings must have 10 employees or units to apply.
“Monthly passes cost riders $97.50, but the Bulk Pass Pilot Program would sell passes on a bulk basis for $25 a month per pass.”
If you can’t get even those in proximity to PRT service to ride now, attempt to bribe ‘em, eh?
Said a PRT spokesman, apparently without shame:
“For us, it gets more people in seats, and has a positive effect on ridership figures. We see this as an opportunity for growth for everyone.”
Including, somehow you can bet, the growth of even more taxpayer subsidies to cover for the fact that a paucity of the public is using Pittsburgh Regional Transit.
But, but, but, but, proponents of the pilot program will cry, it’s being underwritten with $50,000 from a private Pittsburgh foundation.
But that will only give PRT more cover not to right-size its bloated operations.
As the Post-Gazette reported it last week, the Western Allegheny Community Library in Oakdale has become the latest to, as of Jan. 1, drop fines for books not returned on time.
From the P-G report:
Library Director Amy McDonald “said fines can keep people away from a place intended to be a ‘free, welcoming community hub’ and can disproportionately restrict access for low-income residents.
“When patrons begin to accumulate fines, they become less inclined to visit the library,” Mrs. McDonald said. “Whether it’s because they can’t afford to pay them back or they’re embarrassed.”
The P-G cites a 2019 resolution passed by the American Library Association that claimed overdue book fines are “a form of social inequity.”
No, they are a much-needed operational design that instills borrower discipline to make sure everyone has timely access to library books. Either you follow the rules, designed for all, or you’re not allowed to use the library – at all.
To aver that failing to return a library book in the prescribed amount of borrowing time is “a form of social inequity” is simply daft.
We guess there should be no rules of conduct, right? And while we’re at it, we guess there should simply be no rules for anything or for anyone at all, is that it?
You might as well kiss civil society goodbye if that’s the case. Many observers already think we have.
Or perhaps one of Pittsburgh’s better known “progressive” foundations should ride to the rescue – on an ever more deeply subsidized PRT bus or trolley – to pay for the fines of those victims of library “social inequity” and make everything OK (which will only lead to more library volumes regularly returned way past their due dates or, more probably, not at all).
News outlets have reported that First National Bank wants to put its FNB initials and logo atop the now-under-construction 26-story office building on the old Civic Arena tract.
Considering a plethora of other buildings already have been allowed to do such a thing, the Pittsburgh Planning Commission should approve of the signage.
With one stipulation.
Given that FNB is using about $10 million in public money to build its skyscraper, any logo approval must include a brightly lit asterisk and the phrase “Thank you taxpayers!” underneath – in the same size lettering as FNB.
The stipulation also should apply to any other skyscraper, hockey arena, baseball field and football stadium already with such signage that were allowed to dive their hands deep into the pockets of taxpayers to subsidize these edifices to corporate wealthfare.
Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
