Public Transportation
Is there preemption?
No. Pennsylvania’s public transportation law does not explicitly preempt municipal public transportation programs.
What is the relevant state statute?
PA Code Title 74 covers transportation generally, and Chapter 15 addresses public transportation specifically (74 Pa.C.S §§ 1501-1520). The statute creates the Public Transportation Trust Fund with the State Treasury, and authorizes Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to distribute funds via a number of programs. Fund recipients typically include municipalities and local transportation organizations. Recipients of state funds must comply with this statute and PennDOT regulations, including meeting local match requirements and submitting to performance reviews.
Another relevant statute includes PA Code Title 53, relating to municipalities generally. Municipal authorities have power over projects related to transportation and necessary facilities.
PA Department of Transportation regulations also govern public transportation in regards to fund distribution and requirements, as authorized by the Public Transportation statute.
Examples and additional information:
Public transportation is available in every county in Pennsylvania. There are 37 fixed-route systems, plus systems in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, 42 shared-ride service systems, and 10 intercity bus routes. While SEPTA is perhaps the best known public transportation system in the state, there are other examples such as PART, which is publicly-owned by the Borough of Pottstown and privately-operated by Pottstown Area Rapid Transit, Inc.
The Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant program and the Driving PA Forward program both offer financial assistance to municipalities, municipal authorities, or local transportation organizations to retrofit existing vehicles or purchase new vehicles that rely on alternative fuels, helping to create sustainable public transportation fleets.
An example of past legislation that did not pass,House Bill 1307 introduced the 2023-2023 session of the General Assembly sponsored by Rep. Hohenstein, would have amended Titles 53 and 75 to allow a limited number of counties the option to authorize the collection of three additional local taxes to fund transportation projects. The bill was referred to the Local Government committee and did not come out of committee.