Message from PRT: Funding Update

Per an email from PRT dated 9-26-25: Throughout the summer the legislature and Governor have been negotiating a budget that included funding for public transit, and you may have recently heard news that service cuts and fare increases were not going forward. While that is true, the crisis has not been averted. Earlier this month, when it became abundantly clear that a long-term funding solution for public transit wasn’t going to happen – at least not this year – PRT followed SEPTA’s lead and asked PennDOT for permission to shift money from our capital budget into our operating budget.  This is an option that is unique to PRT and SEPTA, per Act 89 of 2013, and can only be used once this fiscal year. On September 12, PennDOT approved Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s request to use up to $106.7 million in state capital funds to cover operating expenses. Today, PRT’s board adopted the agency’s amended FY 2026 budget that reflects the use of these funds. This move allows PRT to close the budget deficit for FY 2026 and avoid a 35% service reduction and 9% fare hike on buses and light rail, and ACCESS paratransit service reductions and fare increases that would have taken effect in early 2026. The reduced capital funding means some projects will be delayed, though no safety-critical projects will be impacted. PRT is expected to have a list of the projects it plans to delay in the coming weeks. PRT will exhaust these reserves in a couple of years, and without new, sustainable funding, we’ll be staring down a deficit again. Once there is a state budget PRT will be back in Harrisburg, pushing for the long-term solution that our riders, our employees, and this region deserve.  We will keep you up to date on these efforts so that we can continue to partner on these efforts.