Recently, the state Senate unanimously approved a bill that could help increase funding for public transit, but Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) officials said the increase is not enough.

The bill would remove the $75 million ceiling on state sales tax apportioned for transit funding and allow agencies to receive 1.22 percent of the sales tax revenue.

While tax money will be reallocated for transit funding, the sales tax will remain the same, at 6 percent.

The increased funding for public transit is projected to result in a $22 million increase, totaling $97 million in funding for the fiscal year.

Hugh Mose, CATA general manager, said the bill passed by the Senate is another important "stop gap measure."

Mose said CATA will most likely get an extra $60,000 for the fiscal year if the bill is passed. He added that the company will not receive as much money because the bill is intended for companies with a greater urgency for funding such as the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and the Port Authority of Allegheny County.

"[The bill] makes our funding deficit smaller, but it doesn't solve the problem," Mose said.

Although the bill was approved by the state Senate, the House of Representatives will not have the opportunity to vote on it until the next General Assembly meeting, scheduled for early March.

Mose said more needs to be done in the future to secure stable funding for public transit because right now it is only a "piece of the puzzle."

Mose said that next year's CATA budget of about $7 million faces a $315,000 deficit that will have to be made up somehow, including service cutbacks, increased local subsidies or a combination of the two.

Rep. Paul Costa, D-Allegheny, said he will support the bill, which will eliminate the cap for state sales tax apportioned to public transit funding because public transportation is in a financial crisis.

Costa said Gov. Ed Rendell will most likely pass the bill if it is passed by the House of Representatives because of the urgent need for more funds.

"The bill automatically opens up more funding without increasing taxes," Costa said.

Rendell spokeswoman Kate Philips said that if the House of Representatives passes the bill, Rendell would take a closer look at it and make a decision.

She added that the mass transit needs a reliable, secure and predictable plan.

Costa said the money for transit funding would be pulled from someplace else in order to be apportioned for transit funding.

"The difficulty now is determining where to pull the money from," Costa said. "That's what most of the meetings are about."

Rich Kirkpatrick, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) spokesman, said the transit agencies have a deficit of about $100 million for the entire state and therefore more money needs to be reallocated toward mass transit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.