"When an elderly man or woman collapses and dies trying to make it to a now distant bus stop, some will say it was natural causes," Pollitt said. "But in many cases, the cause can be linked to Senate Majority Leader [Joe] Pittman and his irresponsible caucus members, and their dereliction of duty that has led to canceled bus routes, the elimination of bus stops, as well as buses, trollies and trains coming less frequently."
The Pennsylvania State Senate has decided that the transit system of America's fifth largest city should be substantially destroyed. Similar dramas are playing out in Illinois, Oregon, and Rhode Island. Each crisis has arisen from the state legislature's refusal to find new funding to save public transit, but Pennsylvania is the first state to actually push its biggest transit agency over the cliff.