controversy

A decision to omit the toll rate schedule from toll tickets to be issued from Jan 2 on the Pennsylvania Turnpike has produced an outpouring of criticism. State auditor-general Jack Wagner says he is "appalled" and has asked the Commission to reverse the move.

The state's auditor general said: "It seems like we're withdrawing from communicating with the public when it should be doing the opposite."

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) lead spokesman Timothy Carson and finance professors supporting the Commission have said repeatedly that the Turnpike Commission can borrow at significantly lower interest rates than a private concessionaire. Carson was quoted in a press release April 21 as claiming that $245m of Act 44 bonds sold at especially good interest rates.

A Reason Foundation report on the Pennsylvania Turnpike by Robert Poole (Bob) and myself (Peter Samuel) has got some attention. Bob did all the work and I got all the controversy!