In recent months we’ve had the opportunity to look at privatizing toll roads in this space, drawing on the experiences of states that have actually gone forward with the procedure.
And in the last week and a half we took a look at the report of a bipartisan commission sponsored by Pennsylvania state government that recommended an increase in gasoline and realty transfer taxes, plus a hike in car registration fees, to help fund what the commission described as a shortfall in both road maintenance and mass transit funding.
Today we get to look at both of these news items together, following the news that Gov. Ed Rendell is interested in soliciting private companies to take out a lease on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Other states have already done this. A private company takes a lease on the toll road for a large upfront payment, which becomes new money for the state government that it would not otherwise have. In return, the company begins collecting tolls and handling upkeep on the roads for a set period, say 75 years.
Naturally, higher tolls would be part of the equation. The last toll increase on the Pennsylvania Turnpike raised hackles, but it came after more than a decade under the previous rates. A private firm would not be so inattentive to the bottom line.
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