Despite the double-digit below freezing temperatures that usually mean transportation nightmares, a full house attended the African American Chamber of Commerce’s February PowerBreakfast meeting to hear Port Authority of Allegheny County CEO Ellen McLean talk about transportation’s future.
In her introduction, chamber President and CEO Doris Carson Williams recalled working with McLean to review Pittsburgh’s finances in the late 1990s. After a stint in Washington, she returned, and is glad to be managing the authority in a time of stability, and perhaps expansion.
“Mass transportation in Pennsylvania has been in financial trouble for years. So it was critical—and it took years to make sure that Act 89 of 2013 included transportation, not just roads and bridges,” she said. “But Act 89 gave us capital funds not operating funds. So we still need to look at ways to increase revenue.”
Advertising, she said, is one of those revenue streams—and is increasing. The authority is also trying to find a way to earn more money from the 24 percent of the riders that live outside the County. McLean also said PAT is looking at sponsorships, such as selling naming rights to its stations. But there might also be a way for capital expenditures to generate new revenue opportunities with Transit Oriented Development.
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