Port Authority extends free fares to riders another week
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Port Authority of Allegheny County has extended free fares through the end of service Sunday.
Delays resulting from staffing shortages caused by the company’s vaccine mandate led to free fares being put in place last week.
“As many of us have experienced over the last week, service reliability remains an ongoing issue,” said Port Authority CEO Katharine Kelleman. “Fortunately, it has already begun to improve as more and more employees get vaccinated and become eligible to return to work.”
Port Authority said in a news release that employees who show proof of being fully vaccinated are permitted to return to work for their next shift.
The transit agency said more than 90% of its 2,600 employees are at least partially vaccinated. Employees who show proof of being partially vaccinated at upcoming disciplinary hearings will be allowed to return to work on a 30-day probationary period, pending full vaccination.
Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said in statement last Tuesday that about 480 Port Authority employees, including 180 operators, would be kept off work starting March 16 unless they complied with the vaccine mandate.
Ross Nicotero, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 82, which represents many Port Authority employees, said last week that some employees would likely call in sick as a way to stand in solidarity with colleagues placed on leave for lack of vaccination.