If the Port Authority eliminates the popular 28X Airport Flyer buses as it has proposed, a private company said it's willing to pick up much of the slack.

"We ran the route for 30 years," said Jamie Campolongo, president of Pittsburgh Transportation Group. Its subsidiaries include Airlines Transportation Co., which still operates a scaled-down shuttle service tailored mostly for guests of Downtown and Oakland hotels.

"First it was the 28X and then 9/11 that forced us to cut back," he said. "But the private sector is here and willing to help fill the gap again" if the authority abandons the 28X route, introduced in 1996 as its first minibus route to connect people to Pittsburgh International Airport.

Mr. Campolongo said that Airlines Transportation would institute a dual-fare system, keeping the present one-way, $19 fare for business travelers (a price that includes a $2 fuel surcharge) but creating a reduced fare of $5 to $7 for workers and students.

He said the company also would sell discounted passes for workers and might create a special ride program for Pitt and Carnegie Mellon universities.

"We wouldn't stop at Robinson Town Centre like the 28X does, so the airport trip would be express," he said. "Even if the Port Authority reconsiders, we think we can offer a good deal."

The 28X has been one of Port Authority's most successful routes, carrying nearly 2,000 riders on an average weekday and up to 1,500 on weekends. The one-way cash fare between Downtown and the airport is $2.25, but many people use passes or student and senior citizen IDs.

Authority spokesman Bob Grove said the Pittsburgh Transportation Group may be reacting too quickly.

"It's premature to discuss the 28X as if it's already gone for good," he said. "There is a chance it could stay. That's why we're having public hearings."

In addition, since the Port Authority serves as the primary regulatory agency for public transportation in Allegheny County, it has to approve any service expansion by private firms.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.