GOING PRIVATE? FINANCING THE NEW LOCAL TRANSPORT

'A New Deal for Transport' has now expanded the possibilities for private sector involvement in local transport provision and financing through congestion charging, workplace parking charges and Quality Bus Partnerships. However, at a local level, transport infrastructure projects are often considered to be too small in scale or lacking in project revenues to be of interest to the private sector. This paper describes the findings of a study carried out by WS Atkins and Hampshire County Council to identify appropriate public and private funding sources for transport infrastructure schemes in Hampshire and to facilitate private sector involvement. A project financing framework was developed in order to evaluate potential sources of capital finance and revenues. The framework focuses on achieving best value for money for local authorities by first facilitating private sector capital then securing public sector funds to meet any funding gap. This framework allowed the identification of a range of opportunities for financing Hampshire's planned transport schemes through the private sector. The implications for the County Council's finances and control over transport operations were identified and a strategy developed to handle private finance issues within the local authority. Experience of a wide range of PFI schemes was used to develop best practice in developing public-private partnerships. For the covering abstract see IRRD E104586.