It's time to stop bashing the Port Authority. Without it, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County would be sunk. Dead in the water. Immobile.

Almost a quarter of a million people ride the Port Authority's 861 buses, 83 light-rail cars and four cars on two inclines every day (although one of the inclines is operated by a private group). In 2009, that totaled 67 million trips. While some of those passengers could drive instead, others have no other form of transportation to get to work, school, doctor's appointments; to go shopping or to visit relatives and friends. More than half the trips on Port Authority vehicles take people to and from work.

To carry these riders, authority buses travel more than 27 million miles a year, light-rail cars about 2 million miles and the inclines, while going up and down, more than 33,000 miles. Almost all these miles fall within the confines of Allegheny County.

The roads of Pittsburgh are arguably not the best in the world or even in the state. This means the buses are constantly getting beat up by potholes, bumps and wear and tear as they drive those millions of miles. The Port Authority has to pay for repairs on its vehicles as well as pay its employees, pay to clean its vehicles, pay for fuel to make them operate and pay for capital improvements to keep the buses and rail cars running.

All of this is accomplished on a budget of about $360 million. Fares can't cover this. Operating assistance is needed from the state and local governments to keep people riding the buses and T and out of their cars. Mass transit is subsidized almost everywhere in the world because it is recognized as necessary for the common good and to keep economies working.

Riding the bus costs less than driving to and from work. People who commute in their own vehicles have a true cost of around $250 a month -- based on estimates of gas prices, repairs due to wear and tear, insurance and other costs. Once they get to work, it can cost well over $100 per month to park, and prices are likely to go up. One-zone bus rider monthly passes cost $80.

One bus can take 60 cars off the road. If you think your commute or just driving around now is bad, think what it would be like if the car owners who ride buses all had to drive to get where they need to go.

Most people who drive to work drive alone. The average commute by car in Allegheny County is 25 to 30 minutes. Reducing service or even shutting down the Port Authority would put thousands more cars on the road every day. It could have only one effect: It would make every driver's commute longer, perhaps two to three times as long for some.

About 15 percent of the households in Allegheny County do not have motor vehicles. Some are student households. Many others have members who provide essential but frequently unnoticed services we all depend upon.

These services include taking your orders at fast food places; providing required clerical help in many areas of your life; cleaning up after you in hospitals, restaurants or your home; helping to provide the care you need when you are admitted to a hospital, or taking your blood pressure, pulse and weight at your doctor's office.

Pennsylvania does not have enough money to fund everything that is needed. Bus and rail service, however, is vital to our region and other parts of the state. It should have priority over many other things.

Without a viable mass transit system our area would shut down. Saying that the Port Authority should get rid of fat and then it would have enough money is a nice solipsism but there isn't as much fat as people might think.

Money has to be shifted from less critical areas to support rapid transit. For instance, if the state Legislature reduced its support staff by half, that would provide nearly all the money needed for the Pittsburgh area.

The Port Authority has made many unpopular changes, and would have to make more if it can't find additional money. Fares were raised a few years ago and more recently some bus routes were truncated, combined or eliminated. This has caused an outcry. Changes expected in January include even higher fares and even more service reductions. The Port Authority is working hard to balance public needs against available resources.

If the Port Authority were to go away, any private company that comes in would not run bus routes that don't cover their costs with collected fares -- no matter how vital those routes might be to individuals and the workplaces that rely on them. Service during times of low demand, such as at night when many low-income people travel to and from jobs, would be eliminated because it is not cost-effective. Weekend routes -- when people travel for recreation as well as work -- would go, too.

The Port Authority is doing everything it can to keep Allegheny County's essential public transportation service network up and running. Bashing the Port Authority isn't going to fix its money problems.

If you don't want your 25-to-30-minute commute to stretch to an hour or longer because bus and light-rail service has been discontinued, then let your elected city, county and state officials know that supporting the Port Authority is of prime concern to you and needs to be a top priority.

Instead of bashing the Port Authority, bash your elected officials for not providing the support it requires.

Cartoonist Rob Rogers does "Rob's Rough," an early look at his work and his creative process, exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.