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Pennsylvania has long spent vastly more public resources on highways than on transit to meet our transportation needs. While Pennsylvania’s highway system provides the Keystone State with increased mobility, our historic neglect of transit is inflicting a heavy price – leaving too few of us with good alternatives to skyrocketing gasoline prices and increasingly gridlocked commutes.
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America’s dependence on oil has become increasingly painful. Two thirds of oil in the United States goes to transportation, with the largest share consumed by cars and trucks. As the rising price of gasoline makes driving more expensive, Americans have sought alternatives by driving a little less and riding public transportation more.
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America’s automobile-centered transportation system was a key component of the nation’s economic prosperity during the 20th century. But our transportation system is increasingly out of step with the challenges of the 21st century. Rising fuel prices, growing traffic congestion, and the need to address critical challenges such as global warming and America’s addiction to imported oil all point toward the need for a new transportation future.
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P rivatization of toll roads is a growing trend. During 2007, sixteen states had some privatized road project formally proposed or underway. In the last two years Indiana and Chicago signed multi-billion- dollar private concession deals for public roads for 75 years and 99 years respectively. As a result of these deals, toll rates on these roads will increase steadily and revenues will be paid to private company sharehold- ers rather than to the public budget.
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The Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group (PennPIRG) has identified several problems that could arise from privatizing the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
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