(The following editorial by Peter Javsicas was posted on the Philadelphia Inquirer website on December 21.)
PHILADELPHIA — Voters across America are saying yes to investments in transportation alternatives. They want alternatives to ever-more-expensive driving, ever-longer commutes, ever-more traffic deaths and injuries. They want alternatives to downtowns choked with cars, trucks and pollution. Whether it’s buses, light rail, regional and high-speed trains, transit villages or just plain walkable, bikeable communities, Americans are willing to invest.
In November, voters in 13 states approved 21 of 30 state and local transit-related ballot initiatives – for about $40 billion in spending, according to the American Public Transportation Association (www.apta.com). In the 2004 elections, the public approved 80 percent of such spending initiatives.
From 1995 to 2005, transit ridership grew nationally by 25.1 percent, and 3.2 percent more in the first six months of this year, according to the Center for Transportation Excellence (www.cfte.org). Ridership has gone up similarly here in Pennsylvania, says the American Society of Civil Engineers, which compares third-quarter 2005 statistics with 2004: Philadelphia Regional Rail up 9.9 percent; Philadelphia subway up 7.6 percent; Johnstown buses up 7.1 percent; Lancaster County buses up 3 percent; Pittsburgh, all mass transit, up 3 percent; and State College bus use up 1.7 percent.
When is Pennsylvania’s turn for funding increases?
In November, Gov. Rendell’s Transportation Funding and Reform Commission made its recommendations, including specific, plausible reform measures and their costs. When our lawmakers in Harrisburg return to work next year, they need to respond to these recommendations. They have to think beyond the annual funding crises of SEPTA, the Port Authority of Allegheny County, and other transit providers statewide. They have to start looking at what the CFTE shows other states approving this year:
New Jersey: Voters approved an additional $78 million of motor-fuel taxes dedicated to transportation projects, including mass transit. (In Pennsylvania, it’s unconstitutional to use motor-fuel taxes for public transportation.)
Ohio: The Central Ohio Transportation Authority will provide about $45 million annually for regional transit through a 10-year, quarter-cent sales tax. (Pennsylvania has no regional taxing authority, though the governor’s commission recommends it.)
Texas: Grapevine, Texas, voters approved a half-cent sales tax, which will generate about $9 million annually, to fund a commuter rail service connecting the city to Fort Worth.
Utah: A quarter-cent sales-tax increase will pump tens of millions of new dollars every year to speed up completion of commuter rail, light rail, and road projects by 2015 instead of 2030.
Washington state: A mix of property taxes, new taxes on commercial parking lots, and an employer tax will provide an increase of $1.8 billion to pay for Seattle’s backlog of street, bridge and sidewalk repairs, plus a host of transit, bike path and safety improvements.
Arizona: A $2.1 billion, half-cent sales-tax increase has been approved for a regional transportation plan.
Michigan: Suburban Detroit counties approved a four-year property-tax renewal that will generate about $50 million annually for Detroit’s metropolitan transit service – about half the agency’s budget.
The voters have spoken: Personal mobility is an essential public good that deserves investment of public dollars. They understand that this legitimate use of public money will pay off handsomely in economic growth and an improved quality of life.
Rendell’s commission has unflinchingly laid out sensible, feasible and tested methods for both funding and reform. Our legislators need to act. They must provide a dedicated transit trust fund, hiking the realty-transfer tax or income tax if necessary. They must also allow regional taxation authorities to spur regional initiatives. Other states have partnered with municipalities and local planning organizations to make major transportation improvements happen. Now it’s Pennsylvania’s turn.