Rendell: New Funding Sources Needed for Transportation

Governor Ed Rendell says Pennsylvania needs new revenue sources to overcome a shortfall in transportation funding.

The governor says the idea that raising revenue in an election year will hurt legislators’ chances for reelection is “overrated.” Rendell pointed to the fact that he was reelected after raising taxes during his first term.

Rendell says one way to replace income expected from tolling Interstate 80 is to raise vehicle licensing fees. He says these rates haven’t been raised since 2002 and if they are adjusted to the level of inflation, the fees would generate $320 million more each year.

He says that would replace about two-thirds of the anticipated revenue when the federal government rejected Pennsylvania's application to toll I-80.

GOP Lawmakers to Fight New Bid to Toll I-80

Pennsylvania House Republicans along the Interstate 80 corridor say they will fight the Rendell Administration's renewed effort to toll I-80. PennDOT Secretary Allen Biehler, who was also recently named as chairman of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, told a House Democratic Policy Committee that PennDOT and the commission plan to submit a revised application for the toll proposal to the federal government later this year. State Representative Scott Hutchinson of Venango County says the I-80 Republicans are unified against this plan which he says would devastate rural northwestern Pennsylvania and transfer money to urban areas...."So we are renewing our fight to stop the tolling plan on Interstate 80, including chopping the Turnpike Commission down to size and maybe eliminating it altogether. I think they have a poor track record, a patronage history and a history of corruption we should end."
Hutchinson says tolling the interstate would hinder the state's economic recovery.

I-80 Could Have Cashless Toll System

The Turnpike Commission wishes to use an all electronic system for I-80 instead of imitating the Turnpike's ticket and cash system. Gentries will be placed in nine locations through the state; those locations are to be selected this fall.

Project Manager Barry Schoch says the cashless system will be the future of toll collection. He says short-distance drivers are encouraged to use an E-Z Pass Incentive program, and long-distance travelers will be targeted. The incentive program will be offered to drivers who wish to waive a tolling fee. Schoch says E-Z Pass is the most inexpensive way to travel on I-80, because most drivers only use the route for a short distance. He estimates that 70 percent of local E-Z Pass users will never be tolled.

The Federal Government must approve for the Commission to toll I-80.