Innovative Techniques in Planning and Finance of Public Transportation Projects: Lessons Learned and its Applications

The International Transit Studies Program (ITSP) conducts two study missions each year to provide transit managers from across the United States the opportunity to examine public transportation practices in other countries and regions, with the goal of encouraging innovation domestically. The program is sponsored by the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP), funded by the Federal Transit Administration, and managed by the Eno Transportation Foundation. The subject for the 2005 Fall Study Mission was Innovative Techniques in Planning and Finance of Public Transportation Projects. The mission studied systems in Barcelona, Spain; Copenhagen, Denmark; Shanghai, China; and Osaka, Japan. As a participant, the author had the opportunity to meet with the managers for the different systems and learn and document the experience. This paper presents a more detailed insight on the author’s assigned studied systems in Barcelona , the way it has been integrated to bec ome an effective transit system, its financial model, the lessons learned and its possible applications in Puerto Rico and elsewhere.