For information on budget-related service cuts and fare increases proposed for September 2012, view our Service Reductions page.
Port Authority adopts an operating budget and capital budget each year. The Authority's fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.
The operating budget shows Port Authority's day-to-day expenses and revenues. This relects the expenses of providing bus, light rail, ACCESS and incline service, including fuel, labor costs, retiree benefits and utilities. It also shows revenue from fares, advertising and university contracts as well as state and county funding.
The capital budget is separate. This budget reflects how Port Authority maintains its extensive system, including 26 miles of light rail tracks, nearly 15 miles of busways and roughly 800 vehicles. Major projects such as the North Shore Connector light rail extension and East Busway paving are paid for with capital budget dollars, not operating dollars.
Money in the capital budget comes from federal, state and county grants that are dedicated for capital projects, not daily operating costs. By law, most capital money may not be used to help balance the operating budget.
Port Authority's fiscal year 2010-2011 budget saw an operating deficit due to a decrease in state funding. This decrease in funding stemmed from the federal government's rejection of the state's plan to toll Interstate 80, which would have provided adequate funding for Pennsylvania's transit agencies, roads and bridges.
Since Port Authority is required by law to balance its budget, the agency was forced to cut operating costs. A 35% service reduction proposal was scaled back to 15% after former Gov. Ed Rendell arranged for a one-time emergency funding infusion. Regardless, the 15% reduction – along with a fare increase and employee layoffs – still impacted many riders and sadly, many areas lost service entirely.
By spending most of our remaining reserve money – as well as the remaining emergency funds from Gov. Rendell – Port Authority is able to keep service, fares and staffing levels stable for the fiscal year 2011-2012 budget. This provides a window of opportunity for state leaders to resolve the transportation funding crisis. However, without predictable, sustainable transit funding, the future of transportation in Allegheny County and around Pennsylvania will remain in jeopardy.
View a fiscal year 2011-2012 budget presentation
Note: All documents below are PDFs 
and open in a new window. 
These may take up to several minutes to download due to their large size.
2012 Budget Book (~ 63 MB)
2011 Budget Book – Note: This book reflects the originally proposed 35% service reduction.
2010 Budget Book
2009 Budget Book
2008 Budget Book
2007 Budget Book
2006 Budget Book
2005 Budget Book: Not Available*
2004 Budget Book
2003 Budget Book
2002 Budget Book
2001 Budget Book
2000 Budget Book
1999 Budget Book
1998 Budget Book
1997 Budget Book
*Note: Adoption of the Fiscal Year 2005 budget was deferred due to undetermined state funding. Port Authority operated on a continuation spending budget for the entirety of FY 2005, which meant that spending levels were kept the same or less than the year before. The 2005 budget was not officially adopted until Port Authority's 2006 budget was also adopted, thus a 2005 budget book was never prepared.
Additional Financial Information