News reports from Pittsburgh last week that a few bus drivers with the Port Authority of Allegheny County (PAT) made over $90,000 last year, with $41,725 coming in overtime pay, should cause state taxpayers to wonder about continued state bailouts of public transportation systems in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

The disturbing news about PAT expenses also revealed that seven drivers made over $80,000 with overtime and 42 drivers made over $70,000. Five managers at PAT will be paid at least $125,000 each in 2006.

In addition to having what most people would characterize as an excessive- pay problem, Pittsburgh's public transit agency is also criticized for poor management of the system — too many empty buses in many areas, not enough service on other routes and inefficient transfers that force riders to wait for long periods of time.

Public transportation is important in large cities, but taxpayers should expect efficient operations and reasonable expenses. Nobody would argue that running a large transit agency is easy, but paying $90,000 to a bus driver in a system that is on the verge of bankruptcy and that generates constant complaints about efficiency and service is not likely to build taxpayer support for additional funding.

To make matters worse, Gov. Ed Rendel has been pulling money allocated to counties for road and bridge projects to prop up PAT and SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority), the public transit agency in Philadelphia.

Ignoring the fact that the legislature did not want to raise taxes to add funding for the state's largest public transit agencies, Rendell pulled a fast one on lawmakers in 2005 by redirecting $412 million in federal funding intended for county road and bridge projects to bail out public transit in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

This band-aid funding did prop up PAT and SEPTA for a few months, but it also postponed desperately needed highway and bridge projects across the state. The transit agencies face big deficits early next year, so transit funding will have to be addressed by the legislature. But that should not happen without performance audits on all public transit agencies in the state to examine their cost structures and a cold-eyed analysis of ridership and routes.

Most of the money from Rendell's bailout went to SEPTA, which, according to a report by the state House, receives a larger state subsidy than similar transit systems in other states. The report revealed that Pennsylvania taxpayers fund 43 percent of SEPTAoperations, compared with an average of 27 percent state funding for public transit in similar states.

Again, most people acknowledge that public transit systems are necessary — and need to be subsidized with state funds to a certain degree — but these systems should also be expected to operate efficiently and pay reasonable wages. So far, neither of those expectations are being met by PATor SEPTA.

Public transportation will have to be dealt with in the General Assembly. And when it is, lawmakers must demand changes in the cost structures and operations of PAT, SEPTA and other transit agencies in the state before committing any more taxpayer support.

Rendell was wrong to sidestep the legislature by shifting some of the counties' federal highway money to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia public transportation agencies. And Rendell, the former mayor of Philadelphia, also is wrong to support additional funding for PATand SEPTAwithout first ensuring that both agencies are not wasting taxpayer dollars on excessive salaries — while at the same time providing substandard service.

Voters should not tolerate Harrisburg throwing more taxpayers' money at public transportation systems without first seeing cost cuts and service improvements.

At a time when Pennsylvania's roads and bridges are given a grade of "D" by the American Society of Civil Enginners, Rendell should not be pulling money from road and bridge projects to bail out inefficient, bloated public transportation agencies.