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Pennsylvania is in the midst of a transportation funding crisis which threatens our economic competitiveness and quality of life.

The extent of the crisis was documented in the interim report of the bipartisan Pennsylvania Commission on Transportation Funding and Reform issued in August. According to the report, $500 million to $850 million in new funding is needed, starting in fiscal year 2008, to support an integrated, efficient public transit system, and another $536 million to $1.46 billion is necessary to repair and upgrade highways and bridges.

The commission is expected to present its final report -- with suggestions for funding sources -- to the General Assembly and Gov. Ed Rendell by Wednesday. Although we hoped that transportation-funding legislation might be approved during the post-election legislative session, which ends Nov. 30, that possibility now seems unlikely.

Court Gould is executive director of Sustainable Pittsburgh (cgould@sustainablepittsburgh.org) and Wallace Watson is co-chair of the Transportation Task Force of the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network (wallwat1@verizon.net).

It appears that early 2007 will be a critical window of opportunity for the commonwealth to put in place long-term, reliable funding to maintain and expand a balanced transportation system. Such a system must, of course, include highways and bridges. But we focus here primarily on public transit, which faces on-going funding uncertainties.

This is not just a problem for cities. Public transit provides bus, rail, and van service for elderly and disabled people throughout the state -- in urban, suburban and rural areas. For the many who have no other options, this service is critical for getting to jobs, education, health care and other essential destinations. In fact, a dependably funded and efficiently managed public transit system would benefit the vast majority of Pennsylvanians and address a wide range of challenges, including rising gasoline prices, time-wasting highway gridlock and automotive pollution.

In recent years, Mr. Rendell has "flexed" federal highway funds to provide short-term solutions to the funding crises of the Port Authority of Allegheny County and its Philadelphia counterpart, SEPTA. Those emergency funds will run out before the current fiscal year ends next June, and state agencies have estimated they will need $94 million to avoid substantial service cuts and sharp fare increases during this period.

The Legislature and the governor must work with transit agencies to find solutions to this immediate problem. More importantly, they must approve early in 2007 legislation that, once and for all, creates an ongoing stream of adequate, predictable and dedicated state funding for public transit that rises with inflation. Only such a solution would create the conditions for a comprehensive transportation system that can support sustainable growth and economic development in our region and state.

Many options for raising this revenue have been suggested -- including sales, income, gasoline, realty and vehicle rental taxes; road tolls; fees for vehicle registration and licenses, and bus and trolley fares. We expect the commission, the Legislature and the governor, in considering possible funding possibilities, to abide by several principles: transit fares should remain reasonable; any new taxes should not be regressive, and transit services that presently meet criteria for efficiency and effectiveness should not be cut back.

More broadly, there should be enhanced authority at the regional and local levels to finance transit operations, particularly to provide necessary matches for state and federal money. Transit agencies should be required to meet high standards of efficiency and effectiveness. Both management and labor should look to their long-term interests by remaining open to compromise for the sake of improved service.

Public funding (including congressional "earmarks") should require commitments by transit agencies to modernized, connected transportation systems that are coordinated with land-use and economic development plans. We can ill afford to continue to build new employment centers far from where people live that have no access to public transportation. There also should be more opportunities for pedestrian and bicycle travel, ride-sharing and other alternatives.

As to roads and bridges, we support the "maintenance first" policy of Mr. Rendell's "Keystone Principles for Growth, Investment & Resource Conservation." Transportation funding, whatever the source, should primarily address the current backlog of highway and bridge repair projects. The goal should be to bring local infrastructure to a state of good repair, which would help our aging communities redevelop and find their places in today's economy.

Prompt action by the governor and the General Assembly is required to address the acute problems facing our transportation systems. We urge the public to attend a free forum that begins at 8 a.m. Thursday at the Omni William Penn Hotel to hear firsthand from PennDOT officials and others about how they might address the commission's recommendations and Pennsylvania's transportation funding crisis.