Starving transit may play well in some districts but ultimately will drive people away, not just from our cities, but from the commonwealth as a whole, even further reducing our clout in Washington. Our legislators must create a steady funding source, solely dedicated to transit. Some modest proposals:Implement congestion pricing in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, on the Schuylkill Expressway, Route 422, Interstate 95, the Blue Route, the Pennsylvania Turnpike and on comparable constantly jammed roads around the state. It would be easy to do via E-ZPass or toll-by-plate. Consider the following:
* Higher charges for high volume hours.
* Higher charges for extra-large passenger vehicles, like big SUVs, which cause the most congestion.
* Lower charges for taxis, bus lines, Uber, Lyft, etc., which get people out of individual cars.
* Lower charges for commercial vehicles, which can’t use transit.
* Tolls for all vehicles on Interstate 80 (all or some parts), but make them low enough so users have no incentive to use slower or longer routes out of state.
* Use the E-ZPass system to charge higher tolls for speeding.
If you avoid congested roads and obey the speed limits, you would pay little or nothing. Encourage enough people to get back to transit, and we could spend hundreds of millions less on highways.
Do not raid the capital fund. We need more, not less, transit service and infrastructure. With the current party in charge in DC, there may never again be federal funds for capital or operating costs in blue districts.
David Richie
Wyomissing