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“IT’S AN UNFAIR BURDEN TO SAY PORT AUTHORITY SHOULD EAT THE COST OF THAT FREE FARE.”
www.pghcitypaper.com
Go behind the scenes of the making of our four City Paper covers inspired by four classic album covers. Our music issue begins on page 21.
Mayor Bill Peduto is in the studio with Lynn Cullen this Friday. Listen to the livestream every weekday at 10 a.m. on www.pghcitypaper.com/ pittsburgh/LynnCullenLive/Page Ever wonder what CP staffers are listening to? We share our playlists at www.pghcitypaper.com.
CITY PAPER
{PHOTO BY LISA CUNNINGHAM}
Could free rides to Allegheny Station become a thing of the past?
INTERACTIVE
FREE RIDERS W
Collect all four Music Issue covers and win a concert prize pack! Two ways to win: Tweet a selfie holding all four using the hashtag #CPMusicIssue or post and hashtag the photo on our Facebook page. (One winner per platform; one prize pack per household). Prize pack includes a restaurant gift card and concert tickets for a great night out. Download our free app for a chance to win tickets to see Indigo Girls, with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, on Thu., April 30, at Heinz Hall. Contest ends April 23.
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HEN PORT AUTHORITY an-
nounced at its March board meeting that it had reached a $1.2 million deal to keep the T’s North Side station free of charge, it came with a glaring omission. There was no announcement of a deal to keep fares free at Allegheny Station — the final stop on the North Shore Connector — which have been underwritten for the past three years by the Steelers and Rivers Casino. The notable absence of a deal with Rivers and the Steelers hasn’t generated much outcry, partly because fares have remained free, and top Allegheny County and PAT officials have maintained their optimism that a new deal will be struck.
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 04.22/04.29.2015
But weeks after the Allegheny Station contract expired, and with no new deal in sight, transit advocates and experts
For the past three years, the Steelers and the casino have been paying for T fares to their front doors; now that they’ve stopped, the ride could be on you. {BY ALEX ZIMMERMAN} are wondering whether the Steelers and Rivers will become the ultimate free riders: benefitting from a service that
brings paying customers to their front doors free of charge, and which accommodates thousands of extra riders during special events — all without paying PAT a penny in return. “The Pirates and Steelers games could not happen the way they do without public transit,” says Molly Nichols, who heads the advocacy group Pittsburghers for Public Transit. “It’s an unfair burden to say Port Authority should eat the cost of that free fare.” Others say it’s a matter of business. “There may well be a price tag that has gotten beyond their interest,” says Mark Fatla, executive director of the Northside Leadership Conference. “It’s easy to say somebody has an obligation, but at CONTINUES ON PG. 08