Port Authority of Allegheny County finalized a $1 million contract on Friday with a New York consulting firm that will study how new bus service could shorten commute times and spur development between Downtown and Oakland.
Past studies of the corridor have focused largely on rail projects that ultimately were deemed too expensive.
Some say the latest study -- funded with an $837,993 federal grant and $209,498 in county money -- is too costly.
"If ever there was an agency that needed to hunker down and focus on its core mission, Port Authority is it," said Eric Montarti, a senior policy analyst at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, a Castle Shannon-based think tank.
Port Authority's financial woes forced it to cut service by 15 percent and lay off 180 workers this spring, and it's facing a $30 million deficit next year, Montarti said. The controversial North Shore Connector, a 1.2-mile, $523.4 million extension of the agency's light-rail system, begins service in March.
"The Port Authority exhibits a trend where they take on new projects at a detriment to existing stuff," Montarti said.
The latest study will look at options for so-called bus rapid transit service, or BRT. It mimics rail with its higher frequency of service, fewer stops and, in some cities, buses that look like trains or trolleys. But it is less costly to develop or maintain.
Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie says neither operations nor capital improvements are being sacrificed to cover study costs -- nor could any money received for the study be used to run or fix buses.
More than two dozen groups, including UPMC, three universities, the Penguins and government agencies, sent letters imploring Port Authority to look into BRT.
The PB Americas Inc. study will evaluate all BRT options.
It will examine where bus-only lanes could be built, traffic signals could be set to give BRT buses priority or buses might need to share the road with regular traffic. It will measure how each option might affect development, travel times and transit ridership. And it will see where BRT could displace residents, eliminate parking spaces or harm the environment or any historic structures.
The study would be the basis of a grant application, should local officials pursue BRT.
PB Americas Inc. will get $456,854 for overhead for itself and five subcontractors; $56,596 for organizing and holding public meetings; $48,540 for developing options; $45,492 for assessing social and economic impacts; $35,758 for assessing transportation impacts; and $23,721 for assessing environmental impacts.
The company has performed similar studies for 35 other BRT projects in the United States and 60 others worldwide.
"A million dollars (for the study) is a lot of money," said Ken Zapinski, vice president of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. "But if you're looking to improve the most heavily traveled corridor in the region, I think that's a good investment."
Eugene, Ore., spent $3.5 million on a similar study for a $95 million BRT line being developed. It came up with 58 alternatives, and was hotly debated for more than three years, said Andy Vobora, spokesman for the Lane (County) Transit District.
"We quickly realized it was going to cost a tremendous amount of money, but we believe it will be worth the investment," Vobora said.
George Hill, a Maryland Transit Administration project manager, said $1 million for a study is "not a lot of money for a high level of analysis of something that actually has the potential to be developed. It's not something you can get at bargain-basement prices."
He said high-end BRT systems can run $30 million to $40 million per mile to develop, but agencies can implement certain aspects at much lower costs and still improve service, as was done in Baltimore.
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority spent "millions" studying the $200 million BRT system it opened three years ago, spokeswoman Mary McCahon said. An exact figure wasn't available.
"It absolutely was worth it," she said, pointing to billions of dollars in development that has occurred since.
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