Port Authority Should Expand Rather Than Cut Service, Pitt Faculty Expert Says

PITTSBURGH-University of Pittsburgh faculty expert Sabina E. Deitrick, professor of public and international affairs in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, says public transit in Pennsylvania needs a stable funding source and a plan to maintain that source. "The Pennsylvania General Assembly needs to act on this to secure dedicated funding for public transit, including funding for the Port Authority, and cease stop gap measures that have proven to be inadequate and certainly unsustainable over any length of time," Deitrick says.

"A plan to provide dedicated and stable funding sources for public transit in Pennsylvania-and Allegheny County-should include expansion of service to new and needed areas," Deitrick adds. "Transit planning should be coupled with land use and comprehensive planning to achieve efficient and desired service in the near term and future years."

Deitrick is codirector of Pitt's Urban and Regional Analysis Program within the University Center for Social and Urban Research and Pitt's Community Outreach Partnership Center. Her areas of research include regional planning, economic and community development, industrial geography, and urban and regional method.

For a list of Pitt faculty experts, visit www.umc.pitt.edu/m/experts.html.

###

1/3/07/tmw