TMACC Executive Director Testifies before Commonwealth Funding and Reform Commission.

MALVERN, Pa. -- The Transportation Management Association of Chester County (TMACC) today announced that Executive Director, Michael E. Herron testified this morning before the Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commission's scheduled listening session at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission offices in Philadelphia.

Herron testified on behalf of the need to secure adequate funding for both public transportation and for highway and bridge construction in the Commonwealth.

"If subsidized funding were not available for public transit, many people who are now gainfully employed would be forced to terminate their positions and return to the welfare system," said TMACC Executive Director Michael E. Herron. "Transportation must be integrated with land use, economic development and environmental policies."

This type of funding is crucial for the operation of several public transit systems including two that the TMACC operate; the SCCOOT bus from Oxford to West Chester and the Coatesville Link from Parkesburg to Exton, Pennsylvania. These routes are subsidized by grants from the federal government's JARC (Job Access Reverse Commute) and the Commonwealth's Welfare to Work program.

The Commission addressed the possibility of instituting innovative funding initiatives for the Commonwealth's highway and bridge network in a preliminary report released earlier this month. Other states have proved to be quite successful in their implementation of innovative funding concepts as Herron noted the privately funded Dulles Greenway in Virginia as an example.

The Commission, created by Governor Edward G. Rendell in 2005, explores transportation efficiencies, sources of revenue and service improvements for the Commonwealth. PennDOT Secretary Allen D. Biehler, P.E. chairs the nine-member bipartisan commission which seeks public input before submitting its recommendations November 15. Copies of the Commission's preliminary findings report are available on line: www.state.pa.us/tfrc.

The Transportation Management Association of Chester County is a non-profit corporation established to promote, educate and provide transportation and employment solutions for private industry and non-profit organizations. Working with government, planning and transportation providers, the TMACC is comprised of over 75 corporate and institutional members.