The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation expects to cover nearly all of the operating expenses for public transit agencies that usually comes from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
However, because of funding shortfalls in many taxes and fees due to the COVID-19 virus, PennDOT may not be able to cover all of the capital expenses normally paid by $112.5 million quarterly payments from the turnpike, Jennie Granger, deputy secretary for multimodal transportation, said Friday. Ms. Granger clarified a statement Tuesday by Acting Secretary Yassmin Gramian, who said local agencies could use federal emergency stimulus funds to meet any shortfalls after PennDOT told the turnpike it could delay its July payment, part of a $450 million annual requirement.
Ms. Granger said for budgeting purposes PennDOT had notified local transit agencies before the virus emergency began that they could expect a 2% increase in its operating subsidy for the fiscal year that begins July 1. PennDOT expects to use reserves to cover $25 million it normally uses from the turnpike and would ask local agencies to use some of the $1.13 billion available statewide in stimulus money if it comes up a little short, she said.
“Even though we won’t get the turnpike money, we’re still going to be able to cover the operating funds for the most part,” Ms. Granger said, because revenue had been running ahead of expectations before the virus emergency.
But that may not be the same for the PennDOT subsidy for capital projects, which uses $375 million from the turnpike payments. With the virus emergency continuing, Ms. Granger said it is difficult to project whether the agency will have the revenue to cover all of the capital projects.
That situation could become more difficult if revenue problems continue until the next turnpike payment is due in November.
“I can assure you [PennDOT, the turnpike and local agencies] all committed to working together to see how we can get through this,” Ms. Granger said. “For right now, we’re all trying to do the best we can in a situation none of us have experienced before.”
Adam Brandolph, spokesman for Port Authority, said the agency already had been reviewing capital projects with an eye toward limiting work to safety projects. Two years ago, the authority delayed more than $60 million worth of capital projects when the turnpike wasn’t able to borrow money for its PennDOT payment due to a lawsuit by a truckers organization.
“We’re prepared for all scenarios, that being one of them,” he said.
Mr. Brandolph said with few exceptions the federal stimulus funds should be used to maintain service due to ridership losses and expenses related to the virus, not to replace state funds.
Ed Blazina: eblazina@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1470 or on Twitter @EdBazina
First Published: May 8, 2020, 11:50 p.m.
