Abney lauds House approval of compromise transit bill
Urges Senate to send it to governor’s desk
Rep. Aerion Andrew Abney August 11, 2025 | 10:22 AM
HARRISBURG, Aug. 11 -- State Rep. Aerion A. Abney, D-Allegheny, a member of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s board of directors, today lauded the House for approving a new, compromise transportation bill intended to save many public transit routes and jobs in Pittsburgh and statewide.
“This is a critical moment for public transit in Pennsylvania, and this bill will help,” Abney said. “The House realizes transit is a vital public service—it gets people to their jobs, classes, grocery stores, and appointments.”
House Bill 1788 is an omnibus transportation bill that would send more money to the state’s public transit agencies, plus road and bridge projects, from existing state sales tax revenues. It was amended last week by the House Transportation Committee to include new accountability measures for PRT and the Philadelphia-area transit system which were backed by Senate Republicans.
PRT faces a deficit of more than $100 million, and its latest budget calls for deep service cuts, layoffs, and fare increases to begin in February. This bill would send an additional $40 million to the transit agency.
If the House bill becomes law, the PRT board can reconvene to amend its budget, and hopefully avoid some of the planned cuts and fare increases, Abney said.
The bill now heads to the Senate, and Abney urged the Senate to ratify it and send it to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk for his signature.
While he supports H.B. 1788, Abney said he will continue to push legislation to create a dedicated funding source for mass transit, which is long overdue. The “Transit for All PA” funding package, which Abney introduced with state Rep. Jessica Benham, D-Allegheny, would earmark money for transit by raising the state’s car rental and leasing fees and establishing a 6% excise tax on ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft.
Abney was appointed to the PRT board in February by House Speaker Joanna McClinton, and he’s serving a four-year term that began March 1.