The report defines PPPs, discusses various types of PPPs applicable to transit capital projects, and presents the impacts of using PPPs for transit capital projects in terms of costs, benefits, efficiencies, and effectiveness. It also discusses other implications of applying PPPs to transit projects, including risk sharing, technical and operational considerations, cultural and political environment, and public service impacts. The report then examines the legal and institutional issues and impediments to the use of PPPs for transit capital projects and suggests ways to overcome these issues to facilitate greater application of PPPs to the transit industry. The Appendices to the report provide supporting information, including a summary of the FTA Public-Private Partnership Program (Penta-P) and its key features, eligibility criteria, and application timeframe.
The report is based on a literature review of PPPs in surface transportation, analysis of specific transit experience with PPPs both in the United States and other developed countries, as well as interviews with transit project sponsors using PPPs within the continental United States since 2000. These results clearly demonstrate the tangible advantages of applying PPP approaches that increase the role, responsibilities, and risk-taking by the private sector to enable public sponsors of these projects to leverage their public resources and move transit projects forward to address the mobility needs of the nation, particularly in our highly congested urban areas.