[BIKE] In Pa. Legislature, an Effort to Boost SEPTA's Fortunes

[Jeffrey FRIEDMAN]

In Pa. Legislature, an Effort to Boost SEPTA's Fortunes

by KYW's Mike Dunn 

SEPTA's perennial budget woes could become a thing of the past, thanks
to bills being introduced by two Pennsylvania lawmakers. They're calling
for a dedicated, reliable source of cash for SEPTA and other mass
transit agencies. 

State senator Stewart Greenleaf and state representative John Taylor
are pushing a plan that would greatly boost the percentage of the state
sales tax that now goes to mass transit -- from 1.6 percent to 5.27
percent. 

This would bring SEPTA an additional $174 million a year. Taylor says
it would end this cycle of short-term SEPTA bail-outs: 

"We provide limited fixes -- fixes that do not provide the long-term
stability that we need. And I think now there's a solution to this
problem that people can agree on, to provide long-term stability." 

Greenleaf admits selling the plan to his colleagues may be tough: 

"There are many voices up there (in Harrisburg) asking for money,
division of the money, greater share of the money. We just have to have
the louder voice here." 

But Greenleaf notes that at least half the state senate has already
signed onto the plan, and he's optimistic for passage in both chambers.
The bills now go to committee. 

SEPTA currently faces about $70 million in red ink.

http://www.kyw1060.com/news_story_detail.cfm?newsitemid=38323 

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