"One downtown office building security guard I interviewed said he works
from 4 p.m. to midnight, and the service cuts eliminated the 12:20 bus -- the
last bus.
“I don’t know why they didn’t cut a bus in the middle of the day
that no one would notice,” he said. “Losing that last bus really hurt.” He
said he knows some employees who’ve had to quit.
For him, taking a taxi home at night adds $200 to his monthly transit
costs, a significant bite out of his salary. He couldn't afford to lose the job,
however, which is why he requested anonymity.
Driving isn't such a great option either. Pittsburghers just trying to get to work feel like they're being hit on all sides by city and county governments that seem to have an insatiable appetite for new fees. Prices at city-operated parking garages
have doubled in recent years. Sidewalk meter rates jumped 100 percent,
too-- a quarter now only gets you seven minutes. Meanwhile, stickers hastily
placed on parking signs all over town antagonize drivers further, announcing
meter enforcement now runs until 10 p.m., four hours earlier than the old 6
p.m. cutoff. And parking ticket enforcement agents
are everywhere."
Read more of Bob Sullivan's article and Jon Robison's interview on MSNBC's Red Tape :http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/06/21/6903901-in-pittsburgh-drastic-bus-service-cuts-strand-commuters
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