BCT Editorial – 1/20/08

This page was last updated on February 9, 2008.

Freeloaders; Editorial; Beaver County Times; January 20, 2008.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“Pennsylvania residents who live along Interstate 80 and the politicians who represent them in Harrisburg are up in arms over a plan to turn the highway into a toll road.”

[RWC] I could be wrong, but I suspect most of their problem is that tolls collected on I-80 would not be used solely for I-80 needs. Some of the tolls would be used for BCTA, PAT, etc. and other bridges and roads. You can see for yourself in the text of Act 44 at http://www.paturnpike.com/I80/images/200700044.pdf.

“But these freeloaders apparently wouldn’t mind having others in the state come up with $1 billion annually to fix the state’s crumbling roads and bridges and to help struggling mass transit systems.”

[RWC] If the folks along I-80 are freeloaders, what about those who ride on “struggling mass transit systems” (BCTA, PAT, etc.) and demand the rest of us taxpayers subsidize their transportation choice?

“State Sen. John Gordner, R-Columbia, plans to introduce legislation to privatize the Pennsylvania Turnpike and repeal a seven-month-old law that authorized new tollbooths on I-80.

“The Associated Press reported Gordner’s proposal would auction the turnpike in three parts: the Ohio border east to Harrisburg; the New Jersey border west to Harrisburg; and the Northeast Extension. The idea is to raise more than $1 billion annually.

“Gordner is hardly a disinterested spectator. Break out a map of Pennsylvania. His 27th Senatorial District encompasses all of Columbia, Northumberland, Montour and Snyder counties and parts of Dauphin and Luzerne counties.

“I-80 runs through Columbia and Montour counties. And although the turnpike and the extension do go through Dauphin and Luzerne counties respectively, they are not in his district.

“Keep that map out. If you live in southwestern Pennsylvania and you want to drive to Harrisburg, Philadelphia or the Jersey shore, the turnpike is the only limited-access highway you can take.”

[RWC] Oh no, woe are we!

“So, to Gordner and his kind, it’s OK for you to have to pay to travel from across Pennsylvania but they deserve a free ride.”

[RWC] OK, how is this different from people who demand taxpayers subsidize their bus rides on the BCTA, PAT, et cetera? I could be wrong, but I don’t recall any editorials referring to them as “freeloaders” or asserting they’re looking for “a free ride.”

“We are not enthusiasts for tolling I-80, but it was the only politically viable solution lawmakers could agree on.”

[RWC] As I’ve written before, I’m all for putting tolls on our interstates and other limited access highways, as long as the tolls are used solely for the needs of the specific road or bridge on which the toll is collected. Since no editorials have mentioned this approach, does anybody want to bet the Times would consider it to be unfair?