11/16/06-The Pennsylvania Transportation and Funding Reform Commission has issued its final report recommending roughly $1.7 billion in tax increases to help pay for needed road, bridge and public transit repairs in the state.
The panel issued its report after spending the past 16 months looking at the state’s transportation funding crisis. The report recommended $900 million a year in additional funding for roads and bridges and $760 million annually for transit.
The state already provides close to $3 billion a year for construction and maintenance of roads and bridges and about $1 billion for transit, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
The nine-member commission, which was set up by Gov. Ed Rendell, recommends that the road improvements be funded through a 12.5-cent-per-gallon increase in fuel taxes and an increase in annual motor vehicle registration or driver license fees.
For public transit, the commission recommends a combination of state and local taxes.
The commission also said spending on roads and transit could be trimmed by $180 million through steps such as using public-private partnerships, streamlining the road construction process, and restructuring mass-transit routes, The Associated Press reported.
Decisions on whether to implement the commission’s recommendations will rest with the governor and state lawmakers when they convene the 2007 session in January.

10/13/06-A study released this month offered a new option for relieving the transportation funding crisis in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Economy League study said regional taxes could be used to fund road, bridge and mass transit improvements throughout the state. The report is based on six months of telephone polling and interviews with state and federal transportation experts, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
Transportation experts said that while state lawmakers should provide additional statewide funding to make needed improvements to roads and bridges, regional funds also could be tapped.
If signed into law, such a multi-county transportation region could be authorized to increase the fuel tax, or another fee or toll, in specified counties. Revenue would stay there to help pay for work on roads, bridges and mass transit, the Post-Gazette reported.
According to the study, state officials should explore the idea of “permitting regions to explore alternative financing mechanisms and regional taxing authority to address unique regional (transportation) needs.”
If approved, Pennsylvania would join such states as California, Georgia, Illinois and Missouri that have transportation districts to help cover costs for roads, bridges or transit systems.
Additional transportation funding recommendations were to use the sale of bonds to pay for road and bridge work and explore public-private partnerships. One other recommendation was to require revenue generated from such enhancers as higher fuel taxes and higher vehicle registration fees be dedicated solely for transportation.
The league’s report follows the release of another study from the Pennsylvania Transportation and Funding Reform Commission that was similar in scope.
Among the possibilities for how to pay for transportation projects mentioned in the commission’s report include charging drivers to use roads that are now toll free, such as Interstate 80, and creating public-private partnerships for some major highways, including giving a private group a long-term lease to operate the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Post-Gazette reported.
What the state will do to pay for needed transportation work should get a little clearer next month. The commission is expected to deliver a final report with recommendations on how to keep roads, bridges and transit from further deterioration by Nov. 15 – a week after the general election.

8/30/06-A new report says hundreds of millions of dollars are needed to rebuild roads and bridges in Pennsylvania and help cash-strapped mass transit in the state.
The report released by the Pennsylvania Transportation and Funding Reform Commission doesn’t list specific revenue-enhancers, but does mention some possibilities.
Those possibilities include charging drivers to use roads that are now toll free, such as Interstate 80, and creating “public-private partnerships” for some major highways, including giving a private group a long-term lease to operate the Pennsylvania Turnpike in exchange for writing a check to the state for several billion dollars, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
Sales taxes, fuel taxes, road tolls, vehicle registration fees and/or bus fares are likely to be increased to generate the $866 million to $2.2 billion needed to aid transportation systems in the state, state officials privately admitted to the Post-Gazette.
Gov. Ed Rendell said this week he would not support an increase in the state fuel tax to help raise money.
The governor stopped short of offering any specific solutions to compensate for the funding gap. He said the state has been able “to stretch highway dollars” in the past and would continue to do so.
The commission is expected to deliver a final report with recommendations on how to keep roads, bridges and transit from further deterioration by Nov. 15 – a week after the general election.