Pennsylvania House Bill HB1868

Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 9/17/25
• Refer: 9/17/25

Caption

In transportation network service, further providing for rates and forms of compensation; and, in taxes for highway maintenance and construction, further providing for allocation of proceeds.

Summary

HB1868 would impose a new 95-cent transportation fee on each trip provided by a transportation network company, such as a rideshare service. The company would be required to collect the fee and remit it to the Department of Revenue, which would then deposit the money into three separate state accounts: the Public Transportation Trust Fund, the State Highway Transfer Restoration Restricted Account, and the Motor License Fund for road and bridge projects, with each receiving one-third of the proceeds. The bill also increases the annual maintenance payment for highways transferred to municipalities under state highway transfer laws from $4,000 per mile to $12,500 per mile. Beginning February 1, 2028, those payments would be automatically adjusted every two years based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, with the Department of Transportation required to publish the adjustment notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The act would take effect 60 days after enactment.

Impact

HB1868 would amend Pennsylvania law governing transportation network companies and highway maintenance funding by creating a new per-trip fee on rideshare trips and directing the revenue to transit, highway restoration, and road and bridge accounts. It would also substantially raise the statutory payment rate for municipalities maintaining transferred state highways and add an inflation-indexing mechanism for future adjustments, affecting the Department of Revenue, PennDOT, transportation network companies, municipalities, and state transportation funding streams.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes are provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or formal support/opposition in the available materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears fiscally oriented and aimed at increasing transportation-related funding, which may appeal to supporters of transit and infrastructure investment while prompting concern from rideshare companies or users who would bear the new fee.

Contention

The main points of contention likely involve the new 95-cent fee on each transportation network trip and how the revenue is split among transit and highway-related accounts. Potential critics may argue the fee increases costs for riders and burdens transportation network companies, while supporters may view it as a dedicated funding source for public transportation, road and bridge projects, and municipal highway maintenance. Another likely issue is the large increase in per-mile maintenance payments and the automatic CPI-based escalator, which could raise long-term state obligations.