HARRISBURG -- The state is facing a transportation crisis that will require a minimum of $866 million a year in new funding just to preserve the status quo and $2.2 billion to significantly improve the system, a task force has reported.

		Graphic: Pennsylvania's transportation crisis On the Net: The commission's interim report, "Investing in Our Future," is to be available on the Internet today at www.dot.state.pa.us/trfc. About 3,000 print copies are being mailed to elected and planning officials, civic organizations, business leaders and special-interest groups around the state.

Without the additional money, road construction and resurfacing will be curtailed, more bridges will be closed or weight-restricted, and public transit riders will face deep service cuts and big fare increases.

An interim report to be released today by Gov. Ed Rendell's Pennsylvania Transportation Reform and Funding Commission does not recommend specific sources of new funding.

Rather, the 25-page report outlines factors and problems leading to the crisis, suggests reforms and proposes three "investment levels" to address the problems.

The commission will hold a series of statewide "listening sessions" to allow the public to give its opinions about where additional revenue should come from -- and how much. The lone meeting in the Pittsburgh region will begin at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 12 at the Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 Sixth Ave., Downtown.

The commission is to recommend revenue-generating measures by Nov. 15, the deadline that Mr. Rendell set for a final report to him and the Legislature.

"At that point, the commission's work will be complete," said Allen Biehler, Pennsylvania transportation secretary and chairman of the nine-member commission. "If we get a real solution out of it, the time and money will have been well spent."

It is widely believed the General Assembly could act during the lame-duck session following the November election, a time when lawmakers historically have been known to tackle thorny issues with less fear of voter reprisals.

"When you're got a financial gap this large, it's a tough topic," Mr. Biehler said. "Public input will be critical to our mission."

A failure to act, Mr. Biehler said, would mean fewer miles of roads will be resurfaced, the state's bridge crisis will grow worse, no new roads will be built and transit systems "will basically be on their own, with no more funding tools to address their problem."

A 50 percent increase in fares and a 20 percent service reduction could be in store at the Port Authority of Allegheny County and Philadelphia-based Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, the commission said, resulting in increased congestion, business and job losses, and people stranded with no other means of transportation.

The Legislature approved a record $400 million-a-year package of higher gasoline taxes and motor vehicle fees in 1997. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said the funding has been eroded by inflation and surging energy, cement and steel prices that have halved its purchasing power.

Automatic increases in the oil company franchise tax have brought in another 5 cents a gallon over the last three years, enough for the department to sustain maintenance activities for now.

State assistance to public transit agencies, while higher than in other states, has been stagnant and led to annual crises. Traditional highway funds shifted to transit have enabled the systems to avoid fare increases and deep service cuts, but those funds run out Dec. 31.

Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Steve Bland said the commission's interim report is no surprise to anyone familiar with transit's long-standing financial problems.

"For years, we've been borrowing against the future to pay for the past," he said. "That doesn't leave much of a future."

Road construction and consulting interests seemed a bit disappointed that the report did not make specific revenue recommendations, so they and the public could provide more detailed input at the upcoming meetings.

Bob Latham, executive vice president of the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors, said his members want a long-term solution.

"The report shows we're barely able to keep the current [road-bridge] system together," he said. "We have to look at what other states are doing in terms of infrastructure and ask ourselves, 'Are we keeping up?' We need long-term investment and long-term vision to be competitive."

Lisle Williams, a spokesman for a number of pro-highway advocacy groups, contended that drivers already are paying a price for a less-than-adequate surface transportation program.

"They're paying the price in congestion, air pollution, safety, quality of life, peace of mind and other ways that can be quantified," he said. "It's also why we're falling behind in the world marketplace. If you can't get in and out of here, people will go elsewhere."

Mr. Rendell created the Transportation Reform and Funding Commission in February 2005, when he announced an emergency plan for stopgap funding for transit and found an additional $530 million for roads and bridges through savings, leveraging more federal funds and other means.

The commission has paid about $2 million to auditing and consulting firms for their work so far. They are to spend October formulating recommendations and drawing up the final report, which Mr. Biehler vowed would be completed on schedule.