PAT Bus Service Still Has the Highest Employee Costs in the Nation

As a backdrop to Port Authority (PAT) labor negotiations it is useful to remember how costly bus service is in Allegheny County. In 2007, the latest year of available Federal Transit Administration data, PAT’s employee cost per passenger bus trip was the highest in the country. A comparison with 18 major systems shows PAT’s total employee cost per trip of $3.45 topping the list. Moreover, adjusted for cost-of-living differences—using Pittsburgh as the base metro area for comparison—PAT employee costs at $3.45 per trip are much higher (64 percent) than the average cost in the 18 systems. Continue