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SEPTEMBER 28, 2011 | Testimony by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE
Transportation Funding Must be Tied to Reform
Governor Corbett's Transportation Funding Advisory Commission identified the dilapidated state of Pennsylvania's roads and bridges and future infrastructure needs. Pennsylvania routinely finishes among the worst states in rankings of road conditions, and among the highest in the number of structurally deficient bridges. Yet P
JANUARY 17, 2011 | Policy Report by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION
80 Ideas for a Prosperous Pennsylvania
A Blueprint for Transforming the Commonwealth
Pennsylvania must undergo a rapid transformation to reverse the poor policy decisions that have eroded economic freedoms and brought the state to its present condition. To provide a roadmap for success in this critical endeavor, the Commonwealth Foundation has compiled a list of 80 policy recommendations for Gov. Corbett and state legi
AUGUST 17, 2010 | Commentary by NATALIE ROGOL
Time to Exit Rendell's Road to Higher Taxes
Governor Rendell has proposed a series of tax increases to fill a $415 million transportation funding deficit created when the federal government rejected his plan to toll I-80 for a third time. The state's highway system is in sorry condition, but not because taxpayers pay too little. Pennsylvania spends more on transportation
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JULY 12, 2011
Turnpike Tolls Totally to Transit?
Amid all the budget turmoil, PA Independent notes the Governor's Transportation Funding Advisory Commission is looking to use tolls on Turnpike drivers—those going to the state as part of the Act 44 payments—entirely to fund transit programs (mostly in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh).
Under current law, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission must transfer $450 million annually from its tolling revenue to PennDOT with $200 million going to highways and $250 million for mass transit. The advisory commission will recommend using all $450 million for mass transit, with the loss in highway funding being made up by other recommendations being pressed by the commission. ...The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has increased tolls in each of the past three years, ranging from a 25-percent increase in 2009 to a 3-percent increase in 2011. Tolls will increase for each of the next 46 years as part of the annual stream of revenue between the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and PennDOT.Schoch said 70 percent of the turnpike’s toll revenue comes from the state’s urban areas, making the transfer of toll dollars to mass transit a worthwhile move. “The idea is that we’re charging people in the urban areas a little more to make the choice to drive rather than ride transit, and that money is going to go back to those urban areas for transit investment,” Schoch said.
The Commission concludes that no additional funding should be provided for highways, bridges and transit unless a series of parallel actions are taken to reform funding structure and a number of transportation business practices.
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 06:30 PM | 0 comment
DECEMBER 6, 2010
Super Rendell Finds Bailout For Failing Port Authority
Gov. Rendell has "found" $45 million dollars of Federal Transportation Funds (for Economic Development) to bail out the failing Port Authority. Proponents claim it as a success, stating that it will save more than 500 jobs and postpone cuts to bus and port services.
Pittsburgh's Port Authority was projecting a $47 million deficit in its 2010-2011 budget. In order to prevent the Port Authority's threatened closing of 45 bus routes and stoppage of some weekend and night services, Gov. Rendell thought it to be in the best interest of the taxpayers to save these jobs and fund the deficit.
Unfortunately for Pennsylvanians, anytime the government says it saved jobs, it's usually far from the truth. Take a similar situation where the governor found $700 million to give to SEPTA, PAT, and other transit agencies to "give them time to find a solution." They didn't—with costs still rising, these organizations are pushing to tax other sectors of the economy in order to subsidize themselves. If anything, all this $45 million does is postpone the reforms necessary to make the Port Authority cost efficient.
The last question one should ask is: with a multi-billion deficit, and constant moaning about structurally deficient bridges, why was $45 million just laying around for Gov. Rendell to give away?
posted by NICHOLAS FETT | 00:00 PM | 0 comment
AUGUST 6, 2010
SEPTA's Extravagant Spending
Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Senate Transportation Committee heard testimony from SEPTA officials defending their lavish spending habits during a state transportation funding crisis.
Senator Rafferty expressed concern, saying:
Perception is reality. In [these] tough economic times when we’re making cutbacks … when [people] hear reports about Christmas dinners and they hear reports of gifts, I think the [SEPTA] chairman and the board ought re-evaluate that position. (Subscription)
Fox 29 found SEPTA officials spent:
- $15,000 on three Christmas parties for their unpaid board,
- $1,100 at the Fountain Restaurant for a going away party for a former General Manager,
- $3,600 for a meet and greet with legislators at a Harrisburg Restaurant,
- and $18,000 on three first-class tickets to Seoul, while another executive made the same trip for $1,300.
SEPTA, like PHEAA and other state entities that compete (or would, if not for laws granting them a monopoly) with private companies, is continually criticized for luxurious spending. So why does it continue? It continues because these entities are not accountable to their customers or beholden to a bottom line. As long as they have friends in Harrisburg, the taxpayer abuse will continue.
Mass transit services can be provided more effectively and cheaply by competitive contracting. It's the only way to stop SEPTA's overspending while dramatically improving mass transit service.
posted by ELIZABETH STELLE | 02:48 PM | 0 comment
