Rail

Private Investment in Transport Infrastructure: Dealing with Uncertainty in Contracts

Research Report, Policy Insights,

21 June 2018

Pursue private investment in infrastructure on the merits of improved efficiency.
Invest more into upfront preparation of projects to reduce inefficient risk pricing by suppliers.
Undertake a comprehensive analysis of how to assist suppliers.
The pursuit of certainty in delivery should be balanced against cost.
Stimulate innovation through early contractor involvement or alliancing, not public-private partnerships.
Avoid transferring demand risk to public-private partnerships if service levels do not strongly impact demand.
Bundle and cross-fund public-private partnerships to reduce demand risk.
Adopt the regulatory asset base model where competition is absent or demand not strongly endogenous.
Introduce a transparent public accounting standard to maximise the value for money of private investment.
Foster competitive markets to achieve cost-effective infrastructure.
Pursue data collection on how contract design affects project outcomes.
Support the development of an evidence-supported procurement tool.

Integrating Urban Public Transport Systems and Cycling

Roundtable Report, Policy Insights,

25 April 2018

Design interchange stations to provide secure, uncongested conditions for transfer by the shortest routes possible.
Provide adequate bike parking areas at stations and stops.
Integrate ticketing and information systems as well as the physical transport infrastructure.
Establish integrated urban transport plans in consultation with stakeholders and the public.

Partenariats public-privé pour les infrastructures de transport

Roundtable Report, Policy Insights,

29 January 2018

Ne renégocier les PPP que dans des cas exceptionnels.
Faire appel à un arbitre indépendant pour établir si le résultat d’un PPP cadre avec ce que les parties auraient négocié si elles avaient prévu le changement intervenu.
Envisager de charger une instance indépendante de statuer sur le bien-fondé de la renégociation d’un PPP.
Inclure la réputation et la compétence avérée parmi les critères d’attribution des contrats de PPP.
Comparer les avantages et inconvénients des PPP avec ceux des autres formes de participation des capitaux privés.

L'évaluation ex-post des investissements et interventions publiques dans les transports

Roundtable Report, Policy Insights,

27 November 2017

Planifier d’emblée la collecte des données nécessaires à l’évaluation.
Procéder à un exercice de vérification en cours d’exécution.
Confier l’exercice de vérification à des entités indépendantes.
Reconnaître la diversité des objectifs économiques des investissements dans les transports.
Associer les partenaires locaux en démontrant l’efficacité du projet.

Shared Mobility Simulations for Auckland

Case-Specific Policy Analysis, Policy Insights,

27 November 2017

Consider integrating shared mobility services into Auckland’s existing transport offer.
Use shared services as feeder service for train, ferry and bus rapid transit services to increase use of public transport.
Ensure shared mobility services are provided in a large enough area of Auckland.
Target shared mobility services for potential early adopters.
Integrate land use and transport policies to limit urban sprawl and support the uptake of shared mobility services.
Create a legal and regulatory framework focused on delivering societal benefits from uptake of shared mobility services.
Make sharing of performance data a pre-requisite for licensing shared mobility services.

Shared Mobility Simulations for Helsinki

Case-Specific Policy Analysis, Policy Insights,

11 October 2017

Enable implementation of new shared mobility solutions in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area as an additional policy tool.
Implement new shared mobility solutions at a sufficient scale to boost attractiveness and lower costs.
Design shared mobility solutions so they feed rail/metro lines and replace low‑frequency, low‑occupancy bus services.
Target shared mobility solutions for sub-urban car users currently not well served by public transport.
Consider improvements in system capacity and access to rail and metro stations.

The Economic Benefits of Improved Accessibility to Transport Systems

Roundtable Report, Policy Insights,

30 May 2017

Ex-post case studies of accessibility improvements can provide evidence on impacts.
A large, ex-ante assessment of proposed measures to improve accessibility can shed light on the practical application of different methodologies.
Accessibility research should be explicitly integrated with health and wellbeing research.

Shaping the Relationship Between Public Transport and Innovative Mobility

Corporate Partnership Board Report, Policy Insights,

30 May 2017

Focus on improving overall mobility outcomes, not just on lowering public transport costs.
Set a vision for urban transport that includes full integration of innovative mobility options.
Ensure partnerships between public transport and innovative mobility operators to improve mobility for all people, including those with disabilities.
Target low-performing or costly routes, and leverage government assets to guide convergence.
Split regulatory oversight from operation of urban transport and adapt procurement practices.
Mitigate innovation risk for new services through pilots and portfolio management.
Incentivise age- and disability-friendly interactions in partnerships between public transport and ride-service operators.

Transition to Shared Mobility

Corporate Partnership Board Report, Policy Insights,

30 May 2017

Start to integrate shared mobility solutions into existing urban transport plans.
Leverage shared mobility to increase use of existing high-capacity public transport.
Deploy shared mobility services in a phased way that maximises public acceptance.
Optimise overall efficiency while assuring a healthy level of competition in the market.
Limit exclusive occupancy of shared vehicles to avoid the erosion of traffic reduction and CO2 emissions.
Leverage the significant potential of improved territorial accessibility created by shared mobility.
Make shared mobility services fully accessible to citizens with reduced mobility benefits.

Linking People and Places

Corporate Partnership Board Report, Policy Insights,

30 May 2017

Design accessibility metrics to matter for people and policies.
Leverage new data sources and methods for accessibility analysis.
Invest in accessibility, not just roads, in fast growing cities.
Make use of accessibility analyses to support decision-making.

Airport Site Selection

Case-Specific Policy Analysis, Policy Insights,

30 May 2017

The process should start with an assessment of need for new infrastructure.
Comparable assessments should be undertaken for a range of feasible options.
Selection criteria need to examine all positive and negative impacts of airport capacity expansion.
Assessments need to incorporate considerations of risk and uncertainty.
The process needs to be clear, transparent, collaborative, and trade-offs need to be explicitly considered.

Local Governments and Ports

Case-Specific Policy Analysis, Policy Insights,

23 May 2017

Develop tailor-made governance arrangements for ports.
Allow decentralised port governance to create additional benefits for local communities.
Coordinate public port investment, nationally and where possible at a supra-national level.
Ensure that ports not only focus on profits, but also take local impacts into account.

Strategic Infrastructure Planning: International Best Practice

Case-Specific Policy Analysis, Policy Insights,

23 March 2017

Systemic risks can be reduced where projects form part of a broad and long-term strategic plan.
Strategic infrastructure planning carries its own risks, including technology's influence on demand- and supply-side considerations.
When it works well, strategic planning can set out a stable set of priorities for future investment with durable cross-party support.
A successful infrastructure planning process balances a stable framework with maintaining flexibility.
The planning process requires clear objectives, a degree of independence and an open, collaborative approach.
The planning methodology needs to address risks and uncertainties, take into account binding policy constraints and include considerations of pricing the use of infrastructure.
A top-down approach to infrastructure planning to complement traditional project by project assessment is essential to a strategic assessment of long-term economic infrastructure needs across sectors.
Infrastructure planning across sectors can help identify the most important systemic risks early.
Using analytical methods such as a scenario-based approach to analysis can be helpful in future-proofing infrastructure plans.
It is important to consider how demand for scarce infrastructure can be managed. Debt management need to be part of any strategic investment plan.
A top-down approach could foster the development of an analytical framework for investment decisions reflecting both demand and supply side considerations.

Ex-Post Assessment of Transport Investments and Policy Interventions

Roundtable Report, Policy Insights,

27 February 2017

Data collection for evaluation needs to be planned for from the outset.
Audit transport projects throughout the project stages
Use independent organisations to carry out audits of transport projects.
Recognise the variety of economic goals targeted by transport investments.
Involve local partners in providing evidence on performance.

Public Private Partnerships for Transport Infrastructure: Renegotiation and Economic Outcomes

Roundtable Report, Policy Insights,

23 February 2017

Use renegotiation of PPPs only in exceptional cases.
Use an independent jury to assess whether the outcome of a PPP is what parties might have been expected to negotiate had they foreseen a change that has occurred.
Consider to task an independent body with determining when renegotiation of a PPP is legitimate.
Include reputation and demonstrated competence in selection criteria for a PPP.
Compare advantages and weaknesses of PPPs versus other forms of private capital.

Quantifying the Socio-economic Benefits of Transport

Roundtable Report, Policy Insights,

20 January 2017

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) guidelines can be expanded to include reliability and some wider impacts.
Further research into reliability benefits is needed to improve confidence in results.
Wider economic impacts should be examined in cases where they are expected to be significant.
Further research into the impacts and tools for capturing wider impacts is needed.
Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) can play an important role in decision making, but need not dominate.

Airport Demand Forecasting for Long-Term Planning

Roundtable Report, Policy Insights,

6 July 2016

Use quantitative methods to analyse the key drivers of airport demand.
Use expert guidance to help interpret the quantitative results.
Quality-assure the analysis and counter the risks of optimism bias.
Reflect the risks and uncertainties that arise in even the best forecasts.
Make better use of demand forecasts in airport infrastructure planning.

Regulation of For-Hire Passenger Transport: Portugal in International Comparison

Case-Specific Policy Analysis, Policy Insights,

9 June 2016

Steer policy development towards mobility services that allow efficient achievement of public policy objectives regarding the needs of consumers and society.
Encourage innovative and more flexible regulation of for-hire transport services.
Embrace data-led regulation to improve societal outcomes.
Keep the regulatory framework of for-hire passenger transport services as simple and uniform as possible.

App-Based Ride and Taxi Services: Principles for Regulation

Corporate Partnership Board Report, Policy Insights,

9 May 2016

Focus policy regarding for-hire passenger transport on the needs of consumers and society.
Keep the regulation framework of for-hire passenger transport services as simple and uniform as possible.
Encourage innovative and more flexible regulation of for-hire transport services.
Embrace data-led regulation to improve societal outcomes.

Shared Mobility: Innovation for Liveable Cities

Corporate Partnership Board Report, Policy Insights,

9 May 2016

Shared mobility benefits depend on creating the right market conditions and operational frameworks.
Shared mobility has significant environmental benefits, even with current engine technology.
Shared mobility will radically change public transport and most traditional bus services will disappear.
Public authorities must guide the deployment of shared mobility systems and anticipate their impacts.

International Experiences on Public Transport Provision in Rural Areas

Case-Specific Policy Analysis, Policy Insights,

29 June 2015

We are currently seeing a major change in the perception of ‘public transport’.
Demand-responsive transport is seen as one of the key options to meet public transport challenges in rural areas.
Significant scope still exists for ‘conventional’ public transport.
Better coordination between different types of services is required.
Relaxing quantitative taxi regulation can enable new innovative solutions.

Better Regulation of Public-Private Partnerships for Transport Infrastructure

Roundtable Report, Policy Insights,

24 September 2013

A mix of financing models spreads risks.
A dedicated budget for PPPs, set in relation to the rate at which future liabilities will be accumulated, can provide such a limit.
Explicit consideration of alternative financing arrangements should be employed in determining whether to proceed with PPP projects.
It is recommended that governments require PPP projects to pass tests of affordability and to clear the hurdle rates of return generally applied to publicly financed transport projects.
The expected cost of PPP projects should take account of cost inflation resulting from the propensity for projects to be renegotiated.
At the individual project level, risks should be assigned to the party best able to manage them, along with rights to make related decisions.
Assigning demand risk is not straightforward and risk sharing arrangements are therefore common.
Continuity of resources and expertise is essential for addressing strategic behaviour and optimism bias more generally.
Regulatory agencies are well placed to ensure transparency and accountability by publishing reports on the criteria employed to make decisions and publishing contracts.