FTA holds online dialogue on private-sector participation

Washington, D.C. — The Federal Transit Administration is hosting an online dialogue on private-sector participation from Oct. 22, 2014 to Nov. 26, 2014. The Private Sector Participation provisions of MAP-21 require FTA to undertake actions, including a rulemaking, to promote more effective utilization of private sector expertise, financing, and operational capacity to deliver costly and complex new fixed guideway capital projects.

To implement the Private Sector Participation provisions of MAP-21, FTA is conducting an online dialogue to engage grantees and other stakeholders to inform the rulemaking, as well as obtain feedback on FTA’s proposed guidance on assessments and model contracts.

Participate to discuss:

• how stakeholders conduct assessments to determine whether use of a public-private partnership (P3) represents a better public and financial benefit;

• what should be included in an FTA guide to developing standard P3 transaction model contracts;

• specific existing FTA laws, regulations, and practices that inhibit greater use of P3s and private investment in public transportation projects.

The website contains background information, as well as questions to help guide the discussion. Register to participate in the online dialogue at https://usdot.uservoice.com/forums/268166-private-sector-participation-in-public-transportat. Once registered, you can share ideas by clicking the submit idea button. Registered participants can discuss and rank all the ideas. The ideas with the highest participant rankings will bubble up to the top.