Pittsburgh-area bus fares could be $7 for suburbs

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The head of the Pittsburgh-area’s mass transit agency says one-way bus fares could rise from $2.75 to $6 or $7.

Steve Bland, chief executive officer, says the Port Authority of Allegheny County faces a $51 million budget deficit despite service cuts and other reforms in the past three years that have saved $52 million annually.

State aid accounts for about half of the authority’s budget, but is scheduled to decrease by $25 million because the federal government won’t allow tolls on Interstate 80 that the state was counting on to fund transit.

The authority faces rising personnel and fuel expenses and doesn’t want to raise fares for urban riders, whose per-rider costs are generally less than the $2 fare they pay. That means suburban riders might have to make up the difference.