Revenue from tolling Interstate 80 and increased funding for mass transportation are the Siamese twins in Pennsylvania's highway revenue sideshow.  They are separate, yet undeniably linked to one another.

According to the terms of the lease agreement between PennDOT and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, strictly speaking, there will be no money from potential tolls on I-80 diverted to mass transportation projects.  However, a large increase in funding for mass transit goes hand-in-hand with the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) pending decision to allow tolls on I-80.

Under Act 44, the Turnpike Commission agreed to pay PennDOT $900 million per year to lease I-80, increase tolls on the Turnpike, and take on millions of dollars of bonded debt.  If tolling is denied by the FHWA, the Turnpike Commission will only owe PennDOT $450 million annually.

 The Turnpike Commission will establish a separate bank account for the revenue generated from the tolls along I-80, as required in ACT 44, because federal law prohibits toll funds from being diverted to transit.  Money from turnpike tolls will be split between the "transit bank" and the "highway bank", while money from I-80 tolls will only go to the "highway bank", to be used for repairs and improvements.

The state's Mass Transit Trust Fund, operated by PennDOT, will receive $410 million from the Turnpike Commission next fiscal year if the tolls are approved, but only $250 million without I-80 tolls, according to a PennDOT spokesman.  So while the funding increases might not come directly from money collected from I-80 drivers, the approval of tolls on I-80 will mean additional funding for mass transportation projects, with that money coming from the Turnpike Commission, who will be operating I-80.

"That's $160 million mass transit gets only if I-80 is tolled.  Sure, they might create separate bank checking accounts, but the bottom line is that the push to toll I-80 is driven, in large part, by the desire to subsidize failing transit agencies," said Nathan Benefield, director of policy research for the Commonwealth Foundation, a Harrisburg-based think tank.

Additional funding for Pennsylvania's 73 mass transit organizations is necessary to alleviate congestion on the turnpike and other highways in the more densely populated parts of the state, said Turnpike Commission spokesman Carl DeFebo.  Three-quarters of turnpike toll revenue comes from the metro areas around Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Scranton, and Allentown.

"Because the turnpike links and serves the largest metropolitan areas in our state, it makes more sense to derive transit funding from turnpike users near cities," said Mr. Defebo.  "Transit must be a vital part of an overall congestion-management solution for urban areas where it is much more difficult to add new lanes or build new roads to improve highway safety and traffic flow."

Turnpike tolls were raised 25 percent in 2009, and will increase by three percent in each subsequent year, in accordance with ACT 44.

As Turnpike tolls escalate, there is concern that more traffic will be pushed to I-80, particularly if that highway remains free.

"If I-80 is not tolled, it creates an imbalance that could steer even more long-haul commercial traffic from the turnpike to I-80. That would siphon off user fees while increasing maintenance costs on I-80 - a double whammy," said Peter Javsicas, executive director of Pennsylvanians for Transportation Solutions.

"The idea that tolling I-80 is ‘fair' because turnpike tolls were raised under Act 44 is justifying one bad policy with another," said Mr. Benefield.

Eric Boehm is a reporter with the Pennsylvania Independent.  He can be reached at Eric@PAIndependent.com