Transit funding on the horizon?

Don't know whether Evans' budget threat created some motivation or if the ideas were already well along in the pipeline, but apparently the State House is voting today on various sources of funding for transit (along with the obligatory roads and bridges -- insert snide comment here about the wasteful suburban lifestyle).

Proposals by House Democrats include increasing the tolls on the turnpike and adding tolls to Interstate 80, beginning in 2010, and giving local governments the ability to increase some taxes to help pay for mass transit.

A variety of other proposals and combinations are described here as well, including various vehicle fees and oil taxes. (Dan at YPP is a bit irate that the oil company taxes are not considered viable.)

In related news, PATCO is looking at possible expansions, including new routes on both sides of the river. I wonder if their "Philadelphia waterfront" lines are sparked by interest in serving the new casinos -- that would be great for Philadelphia's projected traffic woes, although local residents might prefer to have SEPTA generate the routes...