Its better that I, as a PA taxpayer, be forced to chip in $45/$66 for each of their tickets?
Unlike with the Feds, PA has to have a balanced budget. So, every penny spent, has to come from the taxpayers. Is there $45/$66 of "value" to the PA taxpayer for each passenger on the Pennsylvanian traveling west of Harrisburg? The answer to that, is the answer to if PennDOT should pick up the cost.
Where does $45 or $66 dollars per passenger come from? According to the September 2012 monthly report, the Pennsylvanian had 212,006 passengers in FY12. The total loss before OPEBs ($0.3 million) and Capital Charge (n/a) was $5.6 million. If Penn DOT were to provide $5.6 million as a placeholder amount, that works out to $26.44 per passenger. I have not followed Pennsylvanian ticket prices, but Amtrak appears to have increased the average price or more riders are paying higher bucket prices due to increased ridership. Despite Hurricane Sandy, ridership on the train was up +4.0% and ticket revenue up +12.3% for the first 2 months of the fiscal year (Nov 2012 monthly report).
If the subsidy was $20 per passenger would that be ok? That is a small subsidy compared to the non-toll roads in PA.
As for the budget concerns, Gov. Corbett is proposing to lift the obsolete $1.25 per gallon wholesale tax base limit which would bring in a projected $1.9 billion in badly needed annual revenue for state transportation funding. If the state legislature passes a bill to do that, $5 million or so for keeping the Pennsylvanian running is a tiny portion of $1.9 billion. Maybe there could be some small funding for upgrades to the Harrisburg to Pittsburgh corridor to improve trip times along with funds for eastern Kesytone projects.