Editorial: Saving Waterfront bus stops shows how public services should be managed

The deal struck by Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato to keep Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus stops within the Waterfront shopping complex may seem insignificant — especially after PRT just escaped, at least for now, massive service cutbacks due to a lapse in state funding. But this episode offers two important lessons in the importance of transit for mobility, and for the regional economy.

First, the reaction to the bus stop closures and their restoration demonstrates the benefits of public transit to private interests. Second, it highlights the need to enforce standards of conduct to keep public services truly public.

In late September, PRT announced that it had been unable to reach a deal with the Waterfront’s owners, M&J Wilko Ltd., to keep bus stops on the sidewalk immediate