PITTSBURGH Commuting is expensive, report says

People in Tampa, Fla., spend the most on transportation, a report says.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Walking to work and taking the bus most other places, Pittsburgher Stephen Donahue figures it costs him about $420 a year to get around -- a bargain compared with what people spend on average in the state's two largest cities.
A report released Tuesday by the Surface Transportation Policy Project, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit organization, says Pittsburghers have the eighth costliest commute in the country, while people in Philadelphia have the 20th most expensive.
Getting around town burns up about $7,700 for the average household in Pittsburgh -- almost one-fifth of total expenses, the transportation reform group said. Philadelphia is slightly cheaper at $6,600 a year or 17 percent of a households total spending.
People in Tampa, Fla., spend the most on transportation -- almost $9,300 or 24.6 percent of the average family's budget, while New York City was the cheapest at $7,295 -- or 15.1 percent of average household spending.
The report coincides with transportation advocates' efforts to boost federal support for public transit over the next six years. The Bush administration has proposed spending $247 billion on highways and public transit, but critics say too much of that spending goes to the highways.
"These are important programs, and they want to take the money away," said David Ginns, a spokesman for the Transportation for Livable Communities Project, a Pittsburgh nonprofit. "The system has to be balanced, and that's exactly the message we're trying to get across to the federal legislative body."
Restore funding?
Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, transportation officials are waiting to learn whether the Legislature will restore about $16 million in mass transportation funding that Gov. Ed Rendell cut from its 2003-04 budget.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority last month approved a budget that will require state subsidies or fare increases and service cuts to cover a projected $41 million deficit.
Meanwhile, the Port Authority of Allegheny County said it's facing a budget deficit of about $19 million and may also have to cut service and raise fares if the Legislature doesn't restore funding.
Philadelphia's current $2 cash fare is among the highest in the nation, while Pittsburgh is close at $1.75.
"The bottom line is they've done absolutely nothing -- zilch, zero," Donahue said. "We're getting very concerned."