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OCR for page 16
not cover through the negotiated performance pay- enue sources or ongoing funding programs for tran-
ments. This approach, which virtually guaranteed sit capital projects. Transit needs compete with other
that the city would incur costs above and beyond the government-funded programs for general fund sup-
performance payments and bonuses, ultimately port on a year-by-year basis.
proved unacceptable to the city. Small (under h5 million) projects compete at the
local level to be included in the Local Transportation
Plan, and the Local Transportation Plan competes
POLITICAL AND COMMUNITY with other local needs, such as human services, for a
INVOLVEMENT share of an allocation from the central government's
In general, national policies authorize funding general fund. The size of the allocation depends on
sources for transportation, but the impetus for the the region's performance against targets for a set of
laws comes from local or regional initiatives, and the national indicators such as ridership and rider satis-
work to develop political support for the measures faction. The indicators are standardized across the
and to implement them is performed by local stake- country, but local agencies set the targets and regional
holders. The national governments in three of the four officials review them.
countries visited by the study mission play very lim- Larger projects compete at the national level
ited roles in funding transit services, particularly cap- based on performance measures, such as increasing
ital programs to achieve and maintain a state of good ridership or reducing travel times, for the percentage
repair. In France, Germany, and Norway, the central of project costs that will be covered by local funds.
government focuses on intercity and high-speed rail The process for the largest projects--such as Lon-
and provides only a small percentage of the funds for don's £40 billion operating and capital grant or a
operating and maintaining local and regional transit major station project with associated real-estate
services. development--is more politicized, with each grant
In Germany, cities and states provide most of the essentially a one-time deal negotiated between proj-
funding for state-of-good-repair needs. In France, the ect proponents and lawmakers.
versement transport payroll tax is established and
administered regionally by the public transport TRAINING AND PERSONNEL
agencies. The tax rate is limited by national law, but
is set within the national limits by the public trans- As a standard definition of state of good repair is
port agencies, which function somewhat like metro- up for debate and the field of state of good repair in
politan planning organizations in the United States the transit industry is still an emerging one, the indus-
(except in Paris, where the rate is set by the national try needs training programs developed to bring more
government). precision, rigor, and consistency to the task.
Similarly, the toll packages in Oslo were autho- Many U.S. transit agencies, large to small, have
rized by national law, but regional officials and other developed robust training programs for their mainte-
stakeholders in Oslo initiated the proposals, lobbied nance providers, but there are agencies that haven't
for their enactment, negotiated the combination of yet developed adequate training programs with an
projects needed to win sufficient support, and imple- emphasis on maintaining a proper level of state of
mented the measures. good repair. Most agencies train maintenance staff
In contrast, the central government in the United to adequately perform preventive and corrective
Kingdom plays a major role in funding transit ser- maintenance on rolling stock and safety-critical
vices. A central government grant of h40 billion assets, but the training of staff to maintain facili-
($61.6 billion) over 10 years will cover about half ties to extend the service life and reduce costs is
of Transport for London's operating and capital frequently overlooked.
costs. In Nottinghamshire, central government Contrary to practice at most transit agencies in
grants fund nearly all major capital projects and the United States, many European agencies con-
many minor ones. tract services out to third parties. The agreements
However, unlike the United States where federal set forth performance and maintenance standards,
fuel taxes support FTA programs that provide much and the contractors decide that their finances are
of the funding for building and maintaining transit best served by maintaining their assets in a state of
systems, the United Kingdom has no dedicated rev- good repair.
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