Skip to Navigation
University of Pittsburgh
Print This Page Print this pages

July 26, 2012

Port Authority contract extended during negotiations

A fare agreement between the University and the Port Authority of Allegheny County has been extended through Aug. 31 as negotiations on a new transportation deal continue.

Under the most recent long-term agreement — a five-year deal signed in 2007— the University agreed to pay $6.8 million for fiscal year 2012 in exchange for free rides on Port Authority vehicles in Allegheny County for Pittsburgh campus ID holders.

Port Authority spokesperson Jim Ritchie said the agreement was extended “to provide more time for ongoing discussions of a new long-term agreement.”

He told the University Times the transit authority had nothing more to report until a new agreement is final.

John Fedele, Pitt’s associate director of News, told the University Times, “We are continuing to negotiate with the Port Authority and are hopeful that a satisfactory agreement can be reached.”

Pitt has had a fare-free ride program for Pittsburgh campus ID-holders since 1997. The deal is paid for in part by a $90 per term Pittsburgh campus student security, safety and transportation fee. The rest comes from the Office of Parking, Transportation and Services’ auxiliary operations budget.

In previous agreements, Pitt’s payments were based on ridership as recorded manually by Port Authority drivers.

However, a smart card system launched as a pilot last August was to have provided more accurate figures by cutting human error and the use of invalid cards. Pitt ID holders now tap their cards on the fare box to ride.

Under the manual system, Pitt ID holders accounted for some 6 million rides on the Port Authority system. No figures were available for Pitt ridership under the smart card system.

—Kimberly K. Barlow


Leave a Reply