PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION REPORT OPEN FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

 HARRISBURG, AUG. 23 – State Sen. Connie Williams announced that the Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commission has released its initial findings on the state of public transportation and Pennsylvania's roads and bridges and is seeking public input.

 "The initial findings show that there is an imbalance between revenue and the costs of operating and maintaining our public transportation system and state-owned highways and bridges," Williams said. "The real work is going to be resolving the imbalance while continuing to move Pennsylvania's transportation system forward in a meaningful and deliberate way. Now is the time for people to offer their input and ideas into how this can be accomplished."

 The commission has published its findings in a 25-page brochure entitled "Investing in Our Future: Addressing Pennsylvania's Transportation Funding Crisis." The publication is available online at http://www.dot.state.pa.us/tfrc.

 Some of the key factors identified in the public transportation crisis are stagnant funding over the past 15 years, federal operating funding loss of $65 million per year, and a $100 million shortfall in funds from the state utility tax.

 "These losses are compounded by increases in fuel and health care costs," Williams said. "And while the administration did put in place a series of stopgap measures to stave off fare increases and cuts in service, the funding runs out at the end of December. If services are cut and fares increase, many people will find a new crisis – how to get to work, the doctor's office or the grocery store."

 "But, this cannot be viewed as a crisis for public transportation only, because while stopgap funding was found to help public transportation remain solvent through the end of this year, it came at the expense of highway and bridge improvements," Williams said. "Neither transportation funding stream can be overlooked or shortchanged. A new transportation plan must be formulated that addresses both, or the state will again find itself in similar straits in a few years."

 The report identified a number of key factors in the highway and bridge crisis including the fact that Pennsylvania's dedicated funding sources for highways and bridges is not keeping pace with construction cost increases (over the past two years, highway and bridge construction costs have increased by 35 percent in Pennsylvania), and continued traffic growth (particularly trucks). According to findings, Pennsylvania has more than twice as many structurally deficient bridges than the national average (23 percent of the 25,313 bridges on the state-maintained system are structurally deficient. Fifty-seven percent of these bridges are at least 40 years old.). Pennsylvania's state-owned highway system is bigger than most states. In fact, Pennsylvania's state-owned roads are longer than the roads of New York, New Jersey and all New England states combined.

 In the report, the commission developed a series of three funding scenarios to address public transit funding and highway and bridge funding. Each of the scenarios requires a specific investment level.

 The commission has scheduled six listening sessions across the state in September. The Philadelphia regional hearing will take place on Friday, Sept. 15th between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Delaware Regional Planning Commission, The ACP Building, 190 N. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia. During these events, a brief presentation from Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler, P.E. will be made and oral comments will follow. Oral comments should focus on one or all of the following questions (which are based on the commission's initial report):

  1. Has anything been missed in the assessment of Pennsylvania's highway and bridge and public transportation problems?

  2. Are there other reform options that you would like the Commission to consider?

  3. Which investment scenario do you prefer for transit? For highways/bridges?

  4. How would you solve the funding crisis?

  5. Is doing nothing about Pennsylvania's transportation system acceptable?

 Oral comments should be kept to a maximum of five minutes and should not ask the commission to focus on a specific transportation improvement project, but instead on Pennsylvania's entire transportation system. Written comments also will be considered.

 To submit written comments or request to be scheduled for oral comments, access http://www.dot.state.pa.us/tfrc and under the heading "Public Listening Sessions," which appears below the report, select "Online Comment Form." Written requests can be sent to: Transportation Funding and Reform Commission C/O Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, PO Box 3151 Harrisburg, PA 17105. Faxed requests should be sent to 717-772-8443 Attention: Transportation Funding and Reform Commission. Electronic comments can be sent to the commission via e-mail at tfrc@state.pa.us. For additional information on questions on the guidelines or formats, please call the commission at 717-214-7700.

 The commission will use the public comments to help develop recommendations for its final report in November.