Monday’s Brief noted a proposal to take $50 million from the Public Transportation Trust Fund (PTTF) to move it, along with other special fund surpluses, to the General Fund for the 2017-18 fiscal year.  Originally, the proposal was to take $357 million from the PTTF, a move that was met with opposition from Allegheny County’s mass transit provider, the Port Authority (PAT), PENNDOT, as well as other parties across the state, due to the impact on projects and agency funds.

What eventually passed the House was a reduced amount of special fund transfers, including a reduction in the PTTF amount from $357 million to $50 million.

At one point in the Brief we noted that it was not clear how transit agencies would react to the reduced amount as proposed.  A discussion of the $50 million transfer came at PAT’s Planning and Stakeholders Committee meeting on September 21st, and news coverage of the committee discussion came afterward.

When the $357 million transfer was proposed, PAT noted in a press release that it would result in a decrease of $80 million, about 19% of its total revenue. With the revised $50 million transfer (which is not ironclad, as the Senate rejected the budget proposal put forth by the House and wants to move to a conference committee of both chambers to come up with a budget plan) PAT projects it would affect the agency to the tune of $11.3 million, meaning “less dire consequences,  but any change to the 10-year funding plan approved in the state Act 89 transportation bill in 2013 would be a concern” according to PAT’s interim CEO.

There’s no real certainty on what would be reduced, but under both the $357 million and the $50 million transfers, PAT’s reduction amounts to 22% of the total amount (according to this article SEPTA receives 65% of the PTTF) that would be moved from the PTTF.