- The plan would make available up to $412 million in new funding for
Pennsylvania's transit agencies in stages over the next two years, and provide
an additional $530 million in new money to repair roads and bridges.
- Funds for transit will come from within federal transportation monies provided to
Pennsylvania, a major portion of which can be used for either roads or
transit.
- New road money will come partially from federal sources and partly
from state sources.
- The Governor also announced he was signing an executive order to create a
nine-member "Transportation Funding and Reform Commission" to assess transit
and highway funding needs and recommend ways to raise the amounts needed. The
Commission will also recommend ways to cut costs, enhance efficiency and
improve service at SEPTA, the Port Authority of Allegheny County and other
transit agencies. The Commission's recommendations will be based in part on
results of an external audit and outside management consultant review.
- To hold off the service cuts and fare hikes planned for March, the Governor proposed the immediate "flexing" of $68 million in new funds for SEPTA and the Port Authority.
This plan takes advantage of higher than expected revenues coming to the Commonwealth from both Federal and state gasoline taxes. PennDOT is revising its previous projections of revenue expected to flow to the Commonwealth over the next two years. These projections are normally updated every two years in tandem with the State Transportation Plan, but this adjustment is being made out of the normal cycle due to the sizable difference between previous projections and new revenue levels.
An automatic adjustment made to the state's Oil Company Franchise Tax and other minor adjustments to state funding are projected to bring in $276 million in additional funding. Higher than expected federal appropriations will add another $666 million. Total new funding is projected to be $942 million. The new rate of the state OCFT took effect on Jan. 1 and new "obligation authority" that will allow the state to draw down the new federal funds was received on Feb. 3. If gasoline prices stay at current levels, additional OCFT revenue could be available in 2006.
These new funds make it possible to provide consistent, predictable funding to the state's transit agencies without cutting highway projects from current transportation spending plans. Rather, new funding can be provided for transit and for roads and bridges at the same time. When funds were flexed to mass transit in 2004, they required reprogramming for specific highway projects. Because new federal funds are available such a reprogramming is not necessary. Under this plan, no funds targeted to specific highway projects will be cut.
For transit agencies in the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other regions of the state to receive the new funds, the Metropolitan Planning Organizations for these areas will need to vote to allocate the new funds provided by PennDOT to transit. New highway funds will also be allocated through these agencies.