Introducing the City’s new Transportation Fund

City of Philadelphia

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During his Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) operating budget, capital program, and Five Year Plan proposal address, Mayor Kenney announced exciting upcoming investments in our city’s paving and transportation efforts.

To better allocate for these funds, certain revenue streams and expenses will be split out of the General Fund to create a new Transportation Fund. This will not require additional staff or changes in operations. The estimated size of the fund is around $110 million in FY24. The FY24-28 changes are revenue and cost-neutral across the funds, but there will be a minimal reduction in the General Fund balance.

Why are we creating a new Transportation Fund?

Dramatically increasing costs for paving, ADA curb ramps, and related transportation needs are creating tremendous pressure on the General Fund and Capital budget.

While this is cost-neutral across funds now, it will enable future policy discussions to focus on trade-offs related to transportation separate from the rest of the budget. For example, in FY29 when the Vehicle Rental Tax is no longer needed for the repayment of Stadium loans, that revenue stream may be redirected to the Transportation Fund to support investments.

Creating a new Fund will also allow new local and regional revenue streams for transportation to be easily allocated for transportation if implemented. The new Fund will also create dedicated revenue streams for transportation and could enable the City to access federal, low-interest loan programs that require dedicated revenue streams separate from the General Fund.

What costs will be included in the Transportation Fund?

The Transportation Fund will include the operating and capital costs (including fringe benefits and future debt service) for the following activities: