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MARCH 9, 2010 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE
For Whom The Turnpike Tolls
Tolls are appropriate because they are imposed directly upon travelers for their use of roads. However, the plan to toll I-80 represents more than a toll. It is also a tax on drivers because more than $160 million in toll dollars from the highway will be funneled to mass transit systems, primarily in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.&
JANUARY 26, 2010 | Commentary by NATHAN BENEFIELD
Five Alternatives to Tolling I-80
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) continues its push for federal approval to toll Interstate-80, claiming that without it bridges will collapse, highways will crumble, and dogs and cats will start living together. But the proposal represents little more than a tax on I-80 drivers, as 40% of the toll revenue would be diverted to ot
DECEMBER 29, 2009 | Commentary by DICK THORNBURGH
A Road to Savings: Abolish the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
The top-heavy PTC, with more than 2,000 employees, is responsible for overseeing an exponentially smaller infrastructure than PennDOT. The PTC manages 537 miles of turnpike highways; PennDOT manages nearly 40,000 highway miles along with tens of thousands more miles of local roads, railways and bridges. There is an obvious opportunity to merge t
Recent Blog Posts
MARCH 15, 2010
SEPTA and I-80 Tolling
While the transportation industry is propping up the myth that I-80 tolls won't be used for transit in Pennsylvania, SEPTA officials are busy lobbying for I-80 tolling in order to get more money, suggest they'll be "back into that spiral we were in 10, 15 years ago" without that extra money. One of these days I fully expect SEPTA to come to the legislature and admit that they need infinity dollars to keep functioning.
Proponent of I-80 tolling are pushing Sen. Arlen Specter to "go see the president and get this done." This, despite the fact that the decision rests with the Federal Highway Administration, and the law covering tolling of current freeways forbids using tolls for transit and diversion to other projects. But I guess if Sen. Specter and President Obama both want it done, laws don't matter.
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 08:37 AM | 0 comment
MARCH 3, 2010
About 25% of Highway Fund Doesn't go to Highways
Robert Poole has a Washington Times article on how federal gas tax money in the "highway fund" is often diverted to other political purposes.
Today, the federal role in transportation includes mandating sidewalks, funding bike paths and creating scenic trails.
As a result, spending exceeds gas-tax revenues and the Highway Trust Fund is broke. Some claim this is because the 18.3-cents-per-gallon federal gas tax needs to be raised. But drivers can fairly put the blame on the fact that 25 percent of gas-tax funds are diverted to non-highway uses.
We wrote about this issue previously, in discussing alternatives to tolling I-80.
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 11:31 AM | 0 comment
MARCH 1, 2010
Transportation Industry Misleads on I-80 Tolling
A couple of recent editorials in favor of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's plan to toll I-80 - both by transportation industry insiders - gives some misleading info. Peter Javsicas of Pennsylvanians for Transportation Solutions has a Patriot News piece claiming I-80 tolls won't be used for transit.
But the state Mass Transit Trust Fund will receive $410 million in FY 2010-11 (and increasing amounts in future years) from the Turnpike Commission under Act 44 if I-80 is tolled, and only $250 million without I-80 tolls. That's $160 million-plus that mass transit gets, only if I-80 is tolled. Sure, they might create separate checking accounts, but the bottom line is that the push to toll I-80 is driven, in large part, by the desire to subsidize underperforming and inefficient mass transit agencies.
Jim Scheiner, a former PennDOT official, also has a letter in the Patriot News, citing the benefits of the tolling plan for I-80 drivers. Among his claims are that the proposal would spend "$2.5 billion over 10 years to upgrade I-80." Of course, this leaves out the facts that:
- Pennsylvania would have spent $1.4 billion in that time on I-80 without Act 44
- I-80 drivers will pay $5.3 billion in tolls over that time
- $2.6 billion from I-80 tolls go towards payments to PennDOT over that time
- A 2005 PennDOT study recommended against tolling I-80 because
- The "deteriorated condition" of the road had been improved
- The "benefits to users of an I-80 toll road would be insignificant for a considerable period of time"
We have identified several alternatives to tolling I-80, including repealing prevailing wage laws and using public-private partnerships to reduce taxpayer cost and improve the quality of services. However, as John Micek of the Morning Call writes, the state has no "Plan B" if and when the federal government rejects I-80 tolling.
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 09:16 AM | 0 comment
