Innovative Public-Private Partnership Models for Road Pricing/BRT Initiatives

Abstract

This article presents alternative concepts for serving commuter travel demand in major metropolitan areas with a system of priced expressways integrated with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), and presents potential new models for setting up public-private partnerships (PPP) to finance, implement, and operate the system. These new models may make possible the self-financing of new BRT services and facilitate efficient provision of multimodal transportation services. The PPP model for expressway operation uses shadow tolls to compensate private partners, while at the same time charging motorists market-based tolls to ensure free-flowing traffic conditions and to provide a fast, reliable running way for BRT. Revenues from tolls charged to users may be used to pay contractual obligations to private partners for highway operations, toll collection, and BRT services. To encourage efficient and effective provision of transit, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV, and park-and-ride/pool services, private partners may be compensated for provision of transit services and HOV promotion using shadow fee payments based on the number of commuters served.