FTA's Pilot Program selection criteria emphasize increased private risk-taking and investment. They include:
• The number of project elements for which the private partner is responsible;
• The quality of risk allocation with respect to the cost and ridership of the project;
• The extent to which equity capital and proceeds of the sale of development rights are contributed to the project and the terms on which such capital is contributed;
• Whether the project is part of a congestion mitigation plan that incorporates system-wide congestion pricing; and
• The expected effects of the foregoing arrangements on the speed and quality of delivery and performance of the project and on the reliability of the projections of costs and benefits associated with the project.
It is important to note that assumption of ridership risk referred to earlier is not a requirement, but merely one factor to be considered. The assumption of farebox revenue risk is not mentioned at all. Theoretically, a portion of the private partner's compensation could be based on the number of passengers that actually utilize the project without any tie to the farebox revenues, in the manner of "shadow tolling" schemes used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.