Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 62
62
APPENDIX D
International Experiences with Local and
Regional Public Transportation Funding
Outside the United States, long-standing philosophies of Some information on specific transit funding sources at
governance, intergovernmental roles, taxing philosophies, and the local level has been identified from the MIT work, and
traditions in public service delivery vary dramatically, making supplemented by more current information obtained by
it difficult to draw lessons directly from comparisons of local team members:
and regional funding techniques. A concurrent study being
conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ˇ Paris--Syndicat des Transports d'Ile-de-France (STIF):
has noted, however, in the European Union a growing effort to STIF is an umbrella "organizer" of public transportation
"devolve" financial responsibility for public transportation to in the Paris region, setting fares and guiding financial
the regional and local level, reducing what has been substantial management for the Régie Autonome des Transports
historic reliance on central governments for transit funding Parisiens (RATP), the major multimodal regional oper-
and finance.80 ating agency, Societé Nationale des Chemins de Fer
The MIT study focused more on shifting intergovernmen- (SNCF), the national intercity rail operator, with branded
tal roles, relationships, and authority (both operating and commuter service in the region, and OPTILE, a suburban
financial) than on specific sources of funding. Unfortunately, bus association;
it defines and characterizes local and regional funding sources A regional payroll tax accounts for roughly 50 percent
in a way that will be not be particularly useful to the TCRP H-34 of all STIF non-fare revenues and is dedicated to transit
project, e.g.: (Le Versement de Transport, or VT). The VT was cre-
ated by national legislation in 1971 to provide transit
ˇ Small discrete revenue streams, including such things as funding across France; its maximum rate is set by the
bridge and tunnel tolls, parking taxes and fees, and conges- national government and it is collected from all firms
tion charges; with more than nine employees in municipalities over
ˇ Mandated fare recovery ratios (the rationale for which is 10,000. In the future, the rate cap authority may be
to constrain demand for public funding); devolved to the Paris region, the Région-Ile-de-France.
ˇ Funding contracts, largely between "sponsoring govern- The VT currently provides 36 percent of all revenue for
ments" and service providers, i.e., purchased services; transit in the country; and
ˇ Formulas or revenue sharing that, for the most part, Other "subsidies" (unspecified) are provided by the
refer to redistribution of taxes collected at the federal national government (11 percent), municipalities (depart-
level and allocated to regions, and from regions to munic- ments) (9 percent), Region-Isle-de-France (6 percent),
ipalities; and and other sources (3 percent). As increased autonomy is
ˇ Direct special taxes for public transportation either developed by the national government to the regional
levied by the authority or levied for exclusive use on tran- level, ad-hoc funding by the national government for cap-
sit services. ital projects (e.g., LRT in particular) has been eliminated.
ˇ Barcelona--Autoritat del Transport Metropolita (ATM):
The ATM is a regional consortium of 164 municipalities
80Antos, J., Financial Devolution in Transport: How Do Others Do It, and Does
that provide transit serving the Region of Catalonia sur-
It Work?, Case Studies from Western Europe and North America, draft
paper, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, rounding Barcelona and is responsible for coordinating
Undated. operating and financial plans for the region. In the inner
OCR for page 63
63
suburbs, a similar entity, Entitat Metropolitana del Trans- Also in 2004, a portion of the provincial gas tax,
port (EMT) owns and runs bus and rail service; and Can1.5 cent per liter, was earmarked for transit; and
Regional revenues come mostly from a value-added A new agency, entitled the Greater Toronto Trans-
tax, or VAT, and personal income tax; local subsidies portation Authority (GTTA) also was created by the
(sources not specified) account for 38 percent of rev- province in 2006 to coordinate planning and possibly
enues in the region and the proportion has been increas- funding, in the Toronto-Hamilton region, beginning
ing in recent years. with the implementation of a unified smart card fare-
ˇ Madrid--Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid card system. This organization is just in the process of
(CRTM): creating its organizational structure.
CRTM is a voluntary consortium of 174 regional munic- ˇ Montreal--Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (ATM):
ipalities responsible for coordinating operating and finan- The ATM was established in 1995 by provincial legisla-
cial plans for the region; it also owns the region's major tion with responsibility for planning, coordination,
bus and rail providers as separate entities; integration, and promotion of transit services, and effi-
Local and regional nonfare revenues account for 50 per- ciency on the region's road network;
cent of all revenues and are provided by the Region of Local funding sources include a gas tax of Can1.5 cents
Madrid (71 percent), the City Council of Madrid (17 per- per liter, a Can$30 annual automobile license fee, and
cent), and from allocations of national personal income, revenues from municipalities' purchase of commuter
VAT and business taxes; and rail service; and
Local sources include unspecified personal income In addition, the province contributes the equivalent of
taxes, sales-type taxes, motor vehicle fees, and property 100 percent of the debt service on the commuter rail
taxes. system.
ˇ Rome--Agenzia per la Mobilitŕ de Comune di Roma ˇ Vancouver--Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority
(ATAC): (GVTA/TransLink):
ATAC contracts for all surface services and will soon GVTA was created in 1998 with responsibility for inte-
contract for subsurface services as well; gration of the region's road system, transit services,
ATAC's revenues come from fares (28 percent), unspec- transportation demand management program (TDM),
ified subsidies from the City of Rome (61 percent) and and air quality programs;
other nonfare revenues, including advertising (10 per- GVTA local and regional funding comes from a Can
cent). A large share of the funding from Rome comes $11.5 cent per liter fuel tax, a dedicated property tax, a
from "regional transfers" within the Region of Lazio and tax on hydro electricity, a sales tax on commercial park-
from City local real estate (property) taxes; and ing, and tolls; and81
ATAC also has authority to impose parking fees and GVTA has authority for a "commuter tax" as well, and
congestion pricing. has undertaken a publicprivate partnership agree-
ˇ Toronto--Greater Toronto Transit Authority (GTTA): ment to support a new rapid transit line.
Since the elimination in the mid to late 1990s of provin- ˇ London--Transport for London (TfL): In 2003, London
cial subsidies for transit, transit in the Toronto area has instituted a congestion charging scheme to control traffic
relied primarily on local property taxes; demand in central London. The current charge is 8 pounds
However, since 2004, interest in transit has grown sub- per vehicle per day and the scheme currently is raising
stantially at the provincial, and even federal level (this 260 million pounds in revenues per year. These funds pri-
for the first time); marily have been to improve London bus services.
For example, in 2004, a Can$1 billion joint federal/
provincial Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund (CSIF)
was enacted to support specific capital projects over 81 After being in force in 2006 and 2007, the British Columbia government
5 years with contributions split in thirds among the fed- rescinded the parking tax on business parking spaces due to persistent
eral, provincial, and city governments; objections of the business community.
