Skip to main content

Pennsylvania Senate approves transportation budget

After lengthy discussions, the Pennsylvania Senate has approved a US$2.3 billion transportation funding bill to repair aging highways and bridges, and bolster mass transit across the state. The bulk of the money, US$1.65 billion, will go toward fixing bridges and roads; about US$475 million will go to mass transit systems, including metropolitan transportation authority Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The funding will be disbursed across all transportation modes, from gravel r
November 22, 2013 Read time: 1 min
After lengthy discussions, the Pennsylvania Senate has approved a US$2.3 billion transportation funding bill to repair aging highways and bridges, and bolster mass transit across the state.

The bulk of the money, US$1.65 billion, will go toward fixing bridges and roads; about US$475 million will go to mass transit systems, including 1267 Metropolitan Transportation Authority 4288 Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The funding will be disbursed across all transportation modes, from gravel roads to superhighways, roads crossing streams and rivers and airports, seaports, rail lines and cycle paths.

The bill also will allow speed limits to increase to 70 mph on certain roads to be determined by a 6111 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation study.

However, the investment comes at a price. Motorists will be footing the bill for the new investments with higher fuel taxes and increased vehicle registration, driver's licence and moving violation fees that will be phased in over five years.

Related Content

  • SEPTA expands travel wallet availability
    March 13, 2017
    Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is expanding its travel wallet availability, enabling more passengers to use the SEPTA Key Card for tap-and-go travel. Customers who currently use tokens, paper transfers or pay with cash can transition to the Key. The Travel Wallet will automatically deduct single-rides at the discounted token rate and process transfers. This travel wallet expansion moves SEPTA further toward full implementation of the Key, while giving customers time to tra
  • Fasten your seatbelts: it’s going to be a bumpy ride
    June 26, 2018
    A spat has broken out between two major US transportation organisations over how best to pay for road use: the ATA says tolls are ‘fake funding’ while IBTTA has scorned ‘scare tactics and falsehoods’… Much has been made of the state of US roads: everyone agrees that funding is needed – but who should pay? And how? Chris Spear, president and CEO of American Trucking Associationsm(ATA), believes finance is facing a cliff edge: the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), historically the primary source of federal revenue
  • Septa launches 3D fare gates pilot with Conduent
    May 20, 2024
    Fare evasion is estimated to cost Pennsylvania transit agency $30-40m each year
  • LGA report forecasts introduction of road tolling
    November 27, 2012
    A report by the Local Government Association (LGA), the organisation representing councils in England and Wales, predicts road tolling or pay as you drive road pricing could be introduced by 2018. With traffic predicted to nearly double over the next 25 years, the LGA believes the Government will have to consider tolls or even pay as you drive road pricing to raise the money it needs.