Senator Robbins Opposes Transportation Bill

Measure bails out cities, mass transit on the backs of rural areas

Harrisburg - Senator Bob Robbins (R-50) today opposed House Bill 1590, the omnibus transportation bill, saying the measure is unfair and places a burden on rural communities to pay for mass transit agencies in Pennsylvania's cities.

"There are a number of questions and concerns about this bill, but I believe the primary issue here is the matter of fairness. This proposal is based on borrowing, which is another case of adding to the ever increasing debt we are amassing for the future in order to provide a short-term solution," Senator Robbins said. "And, the plan depends on raising revenues from imposing tolls on the thousands of motorists using Interstate 80. That is a bad proposal from the word go."

Noting that the 50th Senatorial District includes the section of Interstate 80 from the Ohio line to the Mercer County line at the east and includes the intersection with Interstate 79, Senator Robbins said imposing tolls on Interstate 80 will negatively impact his constituents.

"This will hit those people who use I-80 as part of their daily commute just as surely as the imposing of any other taxes requested by the Governor to levy as part of the budget," Senator Robbins said. "The truth is we can't even guarantee that this plan will receive federal approval, nor can we guarantee that the money raised from tolls will go solely for highway and bridge work. I can't support a plan that will make the people I represent dig deeper into their pockets to pay tolls when that money will likely end up going mainly to benefit cities and mass transit in one way or another."

In addition, the proposal to toll Interstate 80 would almost certainly have a negative impact on any efforts to spur economic development anywhere in northern Pennsylvania.

"This user fee would increase shipping costs for businesses, both in bringing supplies in and in sending products out," Senator Robbins said. "Those few dollars we may gain in tolls could mean the loss of even greater revenues that we could see through business development and job creation."

Contact:

Michael Hengst
(717) 787-1322