May 15—LANCASTER — Speaking in a south-central Pennsylvania public bus garage, Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday exhorted state lawmakers to approve his plan to funnel $283 million more into public transit, including about $39 million more for Pittsburgh Regional Transit.
Currently, the state puts about $1.3 billion into public transit, and Mr. Shapiro's pitch was tied to the start of budget discussions. Among new spending concepts proposed by the second-year Democratic executive is increasing the amount of sales tax revenue diverted to a statewide public transportation fund.
The move would yield funding increases of $39.1 million for PRT; $161.5 million for the Philadelphia-area SEPTA; $964,641 for BCTA in Beaver County; $955,084 for WCTA in Westmoreland County; $921,644 for the Mid-Mon Valley Transit Authority; and $417,428 for BTA in Butler County.
"The time has come to invest, and invest big-time," said Mr. Shapiro, who is unique among governors in having to negotiate a budget with a split Legislature. Democrats control the House, and Republicans the Senate.
In Lancaster, he and Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll described many dividends from what they said would be the first major investment in public transit in more than a decade.
"Public transit provides freedom and opportunity for millions of Pennsylvanians," Mr. Carroll said. At a recent visit to a dialysis center in Bloomsburg, he said, about 75% of the people at the facility had no other way to reach it. He also said 64% of fixed-route transit users say they have no other alternative for that travel.
Mr. Shapiro said it was also a matter of economic development.
Employers interested in opening facilities in Pennsylvania, he said, routinely ask about availability of public transit, and it also boosts the flow of customers to small businesses. One dollar in public transit investment, he said, has been shown to generate five dollars in economic activity.
Ridership on public transit systems plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic. While it has partially bounced back, it remains far below pre-pandemic levels.
PRT logged 37.2 million passenger trips in 2022-23, down about 41% from about 63 million in 2018-19. Among other regional agencies, trips on BCTA in Beaver County are down about 48% over the same stretch, and those for NCATA in Lawrence County are down about 31%.
Republicans have been lukewarm at best to Mr. Shapiro's public transit proposal. In the House, a bill to set up the increased sales tax revenue transfer passed by a 106-95 vote in March, with all but five Republicans voting against it.
Last week, eight Democratic senators joined all Republicans in passing a proposal to cut the state income tax by nearly 9% and get rid of a tax on electric bills. On Wednesday, the top Republican in the Senate, majority leader Joe Pittman of Indiana County, said he hoped that vote set a tone for creating "a realistic and responsible budget."
Spending more on public transit, Mr. Pittman said, will require scrutiny of transportation infrastructure statewide. All areas, he said, must have a strong, reliable network.
"As part of this conversation, we must also look at evolving transportation methods," Mr. Pittman said. "It is long past time electric vehicles begin to pay their fair share for transportation infrastructure and services before asking taxpayers for more."
Mr. Shapiro's proposed spending plan for 2024-25 amounts to $48.1 billion. State leaders see the June 30 end of the fiscal year as a deadline for approving a new budget.
On a separate issue, the governor blasted Senate Republicans for failing to pass a bill to allow a window for victims of child sex abuse to file otherwise outdated lawsuits. Earlier this month, state Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat and abuse survivor who has been the Legislature's most vocal advocate for a lawsuit window, said it was "bad government" that has blocked passage of bills to bring it about.
On Wednesday, Mr. Shapiro accused Senate Republicans of "hiding behind, I guess, the support and largesse of the insurance companies, and the insurance lobbyists, and the lobbyists for the Catholic church."
Mr. Shapiro said legislation to create the window that has passed the House is constitutional.
"The Senate should pass it," he said. "They should put it on my desk, and they should stop denying these victims the justice that they deserve."
Ford Turner: [email protected]
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