Public private partnership

Introduction

Most transit agencies engage in some form of public-private partnership. An agency that engages with a private-sector firm to design or construct a transit plaza is engaging in a simple public-private partnership that distributes risk and responsibility between the public and private sectors to accomplish a project with a public benefit. Recently, as government has tightened its fiscal belt, transit agencies and other stakeholders have become interested in public-private partnerships as a means of attracting additional funding or accelerating project completion. However, public private-partnerships are often misunderstood. A public-private partnership must confer some benefit (usually a rate of return on capital) to the private sector partner. However, a common public perception of these partnerships is that they can amount to a taxpayer giveaway to the private sector. Achieving a balance

Types of PPPs for Transit Agencies

In transportation, a Public-Private Partnership "involves one or more aspects of the funding, financing, planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of a transportation facility"

Joint development

Public Perception (giving away profits)

Unlock value or move projects forward in time.

Additional Reading

[http://www.ncppp.org/publications/TransitDenver_0806/APTA_RoundtableWhitePaper_080612.pdf American Public Transportation Association Task Force on Public Private Partnerships. "Public-Private Partnerships in Public Transportation: Policies and Principles for the Transit Industry." 2008.