DePasquale said to keep that up through 2022, after which the payment drops to $50 million, the Turnpike is counting on some unrealistic forecasts.
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This trend will move vehicles to toll-free roads which will increase traffic and cause damage to roads not created to handle the number of vehicles that use the turnpike.
In light of PA Cyber founder Nick Trombetta pleading guilty to a federal tax conspiracy charge related to the swindling of $8 million in taxpayer money, DePasquale said the best way to prevent similar cases is for legislators to reform the charter school law and implement tighter controls over payments for students, especially ones designated eligible for special education funding.
Faced with a $450 million annual payment to PennDOT to support transportation initiatives until 2023, the commission is operating on “alarming projections” from a consultant, the statement said, including a 215 percent increase in toll revenue between 2015 and 2035 and a 44 percent increase in traffic volume by 2044, even though volume has been stagnant.
Pennsylvania has done a poor job of informing local law enforcement agencies about new requirements to report numbers of untested rape kits, the state’s auditor general asserted Wednesday. “At some point, people will refuse to pay the toll and start looking for alternative routes”.
“It’s nonsensical”, DePasquale said.
DePasquale painted a chaotic picture of a cash-strapped turnpike commission being forced to continually raise rates, which will only force drivers off toll roads and decrease volume and revenue.
More than 726,000 toll violation notices were sent in 2015.
Additionally, following up on a 2013 report, auditors found the turnpike commission continues to allow employees and third-party vendors such as contractors and consultants to travel toll-free for business and personal use, DePasquale said.
The commission now lacks the power to collect unpaid tolls, which totaled $61.3 million in 2015-16 alone and $43.2 million remained uncollected at the end of 2015.
Turnpike officials say Pennsylvania laws don’t compare to neighboring states which allow for the registration to be suspended of a repeated toll violator.
Seek immediate relief from the legislature to further reduce or eliminate Act 44/89 required payments to PennDOT. At the end of 2015, $43.2 million in unpaid tolls went uncollected, according to the audit, and in 2015-2016 alone, there were an estimated $61.3 million in unpaid tolls. Now the turnpike can send a bill to a motorist who avoids a toll by driving through the EZ-Pass gate but does not have a transponder.
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DePasquale said his office will be conducting an audit of PennDOT in 2017.
