Category Archives: Transportation

Costa: Only $250 Million for Transit in Corbett Transpo Funding Plan

The big news is that it looks like the gas tax increase is the whole plan, and Corbett is only looking to raise $1.9 billion for transportation. That’s a full $1 billion short of the $2.9 billion his transportation funding … More after the jump

Posted in Budget/Taxes/Spending, Transportation

Actually Harrisburg Could Use More “Washington-Style Politics”

ScarJoe is whining about the prospect of merging alcohol reform with transportation funding, because he doesn’t want alcohol reform to pass. He knows that he and most other Republicans would end up voting for it if it was tied to … More after the jump

Posted in Health, Transportation Tagged

Don’t Just Muddle Through: Expand Transit and Lower Fares

Big props to Natalia Rudiak and Pittsburghers for Public Transit for pushing an important new position into the transportation funding debate. So far the statewide debate on transit funding has two main positions: 1. Raise enough money to fund existing routes at current fares, and … More after the jump

Posted in Budget/Taxes/Spending, Transportation

Free Public Transportation as a Poverty-Fighting Tool

Clearly poverty is a multi-faceted issue too complicated to be solved in one blog post, so I’ll focus on just this one aspect in my response to this bleg from AxisPhilly: poor people don’t have enough money. Of all the … More after the jump

Posted in Land Use, Miscellany, The Economy, Transportation

The Case Against the Wholesale Gas Tax Increase

Posted in Transportation

Funding SEPTA With Value Capture Would Complement Existing Philly Development Goals

Here’s an example from Kellie Patrick Gates of a situation bearing out what I was saying this morning about funding SEPTA with value capture: A new Philadelphia City Planning Commission report finds that mixed-use development centered around transit stops, replacing … More after the jump

Posted in Budget/Taxes/Spending, Land Use, Transportation

Assess Gas Tax By the Dollar, Not the Gallon?

Tanya Snyder points to another interesting idea for the transportation funding: When the federal gas tax was set at 18.4 cents per gallon, it represented 17 percent of the cost of a gallon of gas. Now it’s barely 5 percent. … More after the jump

Posted in Budget/Taxes/Spending, Transportation

Fund SEPTA With Value Capture

We’ve known for a while that SEPTA is badly in need of more revenue, and yesterday Christine Fisher reported that they’re declaring a capital funding crisis. The agency already has a $4.7 billion backlog of state-of-good-repair projects waiting for funding, … More after the jump

Posted in Budget/Taxes/Spending, Land Use, Transportation

Corbett Administration Floats Transpo Funding Trial Balloon With Uncapped Wholesale Gas Tax

I want to see the actual plan before praising Tom Corbett, but if what Angela Couloumbis and Amy Worden are reporting is true, I’ll be impressed: The governor is scheduled to announce next week that he intends to uncap the … More after the jump

Posted in Budget/Taxes/Spending, Transportation

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back for Easton Parking

Easton’s taken some important steps toward pricing parking at market rates over the past year. Electronic meters will make paying for parking more convenient, the longer meter hours will help manage parking demand during peak times, and lower garage rates … More after the jump

Posted in Land Use, Transportation