by Lowman S. Henry | December 07, 2004

As Yogi Berra used to say: “This is like deja vu all over again.”

Both the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, which services the Philadelphia area and the Port Authority Transit in Pittsburgh, are financially running on empty. Of course, they’re looking to taxpayers to refill their fiscal tanks. But, should more money be pumped into SEPTA and PAT without demanding significant reforms to the bloated and patronage-riddled bureaucracies that run those agencies?

We’ve been here before, and recently. Just last year Governor Ed Rendell used a tactic known as “flexing” to raid federal funds specifically earmarked for highway and bridge repair to cover SEPTA and PAT’s massive financial deficits. Failing another solution, the Governor will likely pull a similar maneuver again this year.

With mixed signals coming from the Rendell Administration, the state legislature adjourned its 2003-2004 session without addressing the problem. The governor had requested at least $110 million more (not total, more) for public transit. The legislature gave him only $6 million then skipped town.

Good for them. Neither agency deserves the extra funding until they clean up their acts. Mass transit organizations are notorious money pits. In fact, there is not one in the country that operates in the black. SEPTA and PAT have displayed an appalling lack of fiscal restraint; approving labor contracts and engaging in bad operating practices that make them stand out even a business noted for fiscal instability.

Solid, dependable public transportation is important to the economies of both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but it should not be offered at any cost. It also should not short-change highway funding. Let us not forget that far more Pennsylvanians use highways than use mass transit – and our roads are in bad shape. The Pennsylvania Highway Information Association reports over 6,000 miles of roadway need to be resurfaced, and one in every four bridges in the state needs replaced. Diverting highway money to plug the mass transit deficit is not the answer. Such financial jujitsu only places a band-aid on the public transit problem, and aggravates the state’s highway woes.

When this problem reared its ugly head a year ago Governor Rendell hired the former chief financial officer of Amtrak to pinpoint waste in the SEPTA budget. Unfortunately, she focused more on funding sources than on spending cuts. And while SEPTA’s Republican-dominated board has reduced spending in some areas, the cuts have been woefully inadequate. Just like their Democrat counterparts in Pittsburgh, the SEPTA group seems far more interested in grabbing more taxpayer money than in tightening their belts.

Governor Rendell also seems inclined to throw more money at the problem, and that is not an acceptable response. Unfortunately, just because the legislature did not cave to the governor’s wishes in November is no guarantee they won’t buckle when they return in January. Remember last year’s budget when Republican lawmakers held out until December, then socked us with one of the biggest tax hikes in state history?

This time, Republicans need to act like Republicans and demand SEPTA and PAT cut costs and enact significant operational reforms before they are given more money. Perhaps, at that point more money will be justified. Having started down the mass transit route, Pennsylvania is now stuck with the ongoing operational costs. It makes you wonder why others, like the Harrisburg area are even considering getting into such a transportation quagmire.

The pattern of putting the state’s transit agencies into an annual fiscal crisis benefits no one. It is also true that governments tend to act mainly when there is a crisis. This time, however, it would be wise for policy makers at the state Capitol to insist on significant reforms. Then, they should enact a long-term public transit budget plan that relies more on cost-cutting and less on spending additional taxpayer dollars.