AFSCME Privatization Update

Source: By MAUREEN GROPPE, Gannett News Service, July 24, 2008

The federal government can lose millions of dollars in tax revenues from privatized transportation projects such as Indiana's leasing of its toll road, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Because private-sector firms, unlike public toll authorities, pay federal income tax, they can deduct depreciation on assets for which they have "effective ownership," the GAO told a Senate panel looking at the issue of public-private highway partnerships.

Posted by Info Center at 10:40 AM in Federal | Transportation | Permalink

Source: CUPE, June 25, 2008 01:33 PM

Three provincial divisions of CUPE have compiled resources that make the case for public services.

In Alberta, locals can draw on a package of information that makes the case for publicly financed infrastructure. A summary of the package, with links to the backing documents, is on the CUPE Alberta website.

CUPE Nova Scotia is supporting its campaign against privatization with p3facts.ca, a website that encourages visitors to get the facts on privatization. The site includes case studies of several Canadian P3s gone wrong.

CUPE Quebec's new campaign website, nonauxppp.com, encourages Quebec taxpayers not to fall into the P3 trap. Visitors to the fact-packed site can watch a short video , and listen to radio ads CUPE is running in the province. The radio ad is available in English and French.

Posted by Info Center at 3:10 PM in Public Works | Transportation | Permalink

Source: School Bus Fleet, July 9, 2008

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The National School Transportation Association's (NSTA) intervention in a deal between the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (GDRTA) and Dayton (Ohio) Public Schools (DPS) could lead the school district to outsource some of its transportation services to a school bus contractor.

Last year, NSTA officials filed a complaint with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) after reading that DPS had entered into a $2 million agreement for GDRTA to take over its transport of high school students.

NSTA alleged that GDRTA violated federal regulations by designing limited service routes that bypassed the agency's regular route system to take students directly from their neighborhoods to their schools in the morning, and home in the afternoon, prompting an investigation by the FTA.

Posted by Info Center at 2:59 PM in Laws/Legislation | School Bus | Schools K-12 | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Ohio

Source: By Joe Cohen, Standard-Times (MA), June 25, 2008 6:00 AM

Union school bus drivers who transport city school children on field trips and to special events plan to protest the threat of their jobs being cut outside Monday's School Committee meeting at the Keith Middle School. The 14 drivers, members of Local 641 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, are calling on others to join them in a show of support.

...... The School Department already outsources about 45 routes to Tremblay Bus Co., whose drivers are non-union, part-time and do not receive benefits.

Posted by Info Center at 11:52 AM in School Bus | Schools K-12 | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Massachusetts

Source: By Brian Moon, Wisconsin Radio Network, Monday, June 23, 2008, 11:25 AM

Federal guidelines prohibit Milwaukee County from profiting from General Mitchell International Airport. County Exec Scott Walker proposes leasing off the airport and using the money to fix the county's crumbling mass transit, something FAA requirements allow.

....... The Transportation, Public Works and Transit Committee Chairman says at least five of his colleagues on the Board are not in favor of the airport privatization plan.

Posted by Info Center at 11:35 AM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Minnesota

Source: Jennifer González, Plain Dealer (OH), Saturday, June 21, 2008

The Madison School District is handing over responsibility for busing students to a private company. The school board voted this week to hire Youngstown-based Community Bus Services to manage the district's transportation department.

The move comes after the district and Ohio Association of Public School Employees Local 238 were unable to agree on a new contract for the roughly 40 bus drivers. The current contract expires June 30.

Posted by Info Center at 11:30 AM in School Bus | Schools K-12 | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Ohio

Source: Transportation Transformation news release, June 5, 2008'

An unprecedented alliance of regional and state government, finance, academic and private industry leaders today announced the formation of a new coalition that will strive to transform the nation's transportation system in 2009 utilizing a combination of public and private-sector solutions.

The creation of the Transportation Transformation Group - also known as the T2 - was announced by former U.S. House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt; Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey of HNTB Companies, former Commander-In-Chief of the U.S. Southern Forces Command and Cabinet-level director of the White House Drug "Czar" Policy Office; Texas Transportation Commissioner Ned Holmes; Dr. Joseph M. Giglio, Senior Academic Specialist and Executive Professor of General Management at Northeastern University in Boston; and Washington, D.C-based Pollster Thomas Riehle during a news conference at the National Press Club.

"It's about time we add a fresh set of ideas to the transportation policy debate," said Gephardt, representing T2 member Goldman Sachs. "If we don't, communities across America will continue to be plagued by increased traffic congestion, deteriorating roads and bridges, safety issues and air pollution - all of which have an effect on our quality of life and our prosperity."

The coalition's goals include educating Americans about the benefits of new transportation delivery options and garnering support for innovative financing techniques as a part of a diverse strategy that will meet America's transportation needs today and in the future.

Posted by Info Center at 10:57 AM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink

Source: By Jeff Bishop, The Times-Herald (GA), Monday, June 09, 2008

Although there's currently a lot of buzzing about the possible privatization of the Newnan-Coweta Airport, this isn't the first time the airport has flown in that direction.

The headline of a March 23, 1997 edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle trumpeted: "Newnan airport first to privatize."

......... Lawrenceville-based Airport Technologies won the bid and did indeed manage the airport for a brief time. The plan of the company was to attract businesses to the airport and market it to executives worldwide to "transform the Newnan-Coweta County Airport into an economic engine that will generate between $25 million and $50 million for the area within five years."

It didn't work out quite that way.

....... The big money never materialized. In fact, Gay said, "We felt like we could do the same things, but in a more cost-effective way. We decided it would work better to have the financials handled through the county, rather than pay a contractor to do it."

Posted by Info Center at 3:08 PM in Publicization | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Georgia

Source: By David Dagan and Eric Veronikis, Central Penn Business Journal (PA), 6/2/2008

Members of Harrisburg's parking union are not budging despite the latest round of wooing by a private partnership offering to lease the city's parking facilities for $215 million. It's been more than two weeks since the partnership led by New York City-based real estate investor Jacob A. Frydman mailed individual letters to union employees that promised higher pay and job protections if the deal goes through. ...... The letter was sent after union members voted unanimously not to negotiate with the partnership, Harrisburg Public Parking. Many parking authority employees declined to talk last week when approached by reporters. A handful who did were adamantly opposed to the lease.

......... . Lewis said the employees have watched enough takeovers to believe that what is promised does not match up with the real outcome. The union is the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 521b. A clause in the union's contract requires that union workers remain employed by the city's parking authority in the event of a lease.

Posted by Info Center at 10:30 AM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Pennslyvania

Source: BY ANI MARTINEZ, Miami Herald (FL), Sun, Jun. 01, 2008

FOR LEASE: A 78-mile, four-lane toll road, built in the late 1960s, upgraded in 1980s. Slippery when wet. Views of cattle, alligators, brush fires, mucky canals and car wrecks.

PRICE: negotiable.

Alligator Alley, the four-lane toll road, is up for bids.

The Florida Department of Transportation is looking for a private company to lease the 78-mile section of I-75 that connects Southwest and Southeast Florida.

The private company would operate and maintain the road for 50 years or more. The state would still own it.

The bidding process is still in the early stages, but residents in Collier and Broward counties are not enamored with the idea.

Posted by Info Center at 11:17 AM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Florida

Source: By Ellen Dannin and Phineas Baxandall, Ellen Dannin teaches law at the Penn State Dickinson School of Law. Phineas Baxandall is senior analyst for tax and budget policy at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Philadelphia Inquirer (PA),
Tue, May. 27, 2008

The prospect of $12.8 billion to invest in public infrastructure and promises that investing the payout would yield more than $1 billion every year for the life of the 75-year Pennsylvania Turnpike deal may sound like a godsend to a commonwealth filled with crumbling roads and bridges.

Aside from some grumbling about increased tolls for drivers, many regard these potential proceeds like free cash. The truth is the money would have huge hidden costs far greater than the projected toll increases. These costs would leave Pennsylvania poorer rather than better off.

Posted by Info Center at 1:16 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Pennslyvania

Source: BY ZACHARY GORCHOW, Detroit FREE PRESS (MI), May 23, 2008

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's proposal to sell the city's half of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel to satisfy a financial hole suffered a possibly fatal setback Thursday when the City Council voted to omit the deal from the upcoming budget.

...... Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams said earlier this month that he would recommend layoffs to find the $65 million.

Posted by Info Center at 1:07 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Public Works | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Michigan

Source: By David Dagan, Central Penn Business (PA), 5/16/2008

The deal is on the table for members of the Harrisburg Parking Authority union. The private company that wants to lease the city's parking facilities yesterday mailed a letter to members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 521b. The union local has publicly opposed the deal.

The letter promised an hourly pay increase of 75 cents, a cash bonus equal to 20 percent of salary and other perks if the union agrees to remove a contract clause blocking the $215 million, 75-year lease.

Posted by Info Center at 2:37 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Pennslyvania

Source: By BRENDAN RILEY, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (NV), May 16, 2008

Traffic travels on U.S. 95 south from the Ann Road overpass Thursday. The Nevada Transportation Board endorsed a proposal to make lanes on part of U.S. 95 and Interstate 15 toll lanes with private financing paying for the project.
Photo by Craig L. Moran

CARSON CITY -- A proposal to allow for privatized toll lanes in Las Vegas as a way to help reduce a huge funding shortfall for Nevada highway projects was endorsed Thursday by the Nevada Transportation Board.

Gov. Jim Gibbons, the board chairman, joined with other panel members at the meeting to back the 19-mile demonstration project. Gibbons opposes higher taxes, but a spokesman said after the meeting that the voluntary freeway toll doesn't clash with his anti-tax philosophy.

The pilot project, which requires approval from the 2009 Legislature, would be on Nevada's busiest stretches of road: U.S. Highway 95 to Interstate 15, and I-15 south to Interstate 215.

Posted by Info Center at 2:11 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Nevada

Source: By Mark Melady TELEGRAM & GAZETTE (MA), Thursday, May 8, 2008

The Research Bureau has again urged the city to unload some of its properties, including the airport, the DCU Center, Union Station and the Senior Center, and recommended other cost-saving measures such as outsourcing custodial services, ending paid police details at construction sites, further reducing employee health insurance costs, and limiting police and fire injured-on-duty compensation.

Posted by Info Center at 1:33 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Custodial | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Massachusetts

Source: By Eric Veronikis, Central Penn Business Journal (PA), 5/5/2008

Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed this afternoon revealed a plan to lease 11 Harrisburg Parking Authority garages, its parking lots and approximately 900 metered parking spaces in the city to a private company, which would pay the authority a one-time up front sum of $215 million.

..... The plan hinges on City Council's approval and negotiations with AFSCME local 521 B, the union which represents authority parking garage employees. The new operator would employ existing garage employees at the same rate and might add more workers, Reed said.

...... HPP would sign a 75-year lease under the proposal. The authority would still own and operate parking on City Island, Reed said. It would own the garages HPP would operate under the lease. The authority could still develop new parking garages, Reed said. HPP is owned by New York-based North American Strategic Infrastructure Partners and Connecticut-based LAZ Parking.

....... State law requires leases of 30 years or more to be subjected to real estate transfer taxes, Reed said. This deal would deliver about $1.1 million in transfer taxes to the city and the Harrisburg School District, separately, he said.

Posted by Info Center at 3:12 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Pennslyvania

Source: By Justin Carretta, Fleet Owner, May 1, 2008 3:14 PM

The California Assembly Business and Professions Committee voted down a measure (AB 2600) that would have allowed the state to enter into private-public partnerships for infrastructure development by a five to three vote on Tuesday. The proposal had been strongly endorsed by Governor (R) Arnold Schwarzenegger.

....... The California Conference of Carpenters, Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California, and Southern California Leadership Council (SCLC) have been in support, while the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), California School Employees Association, AFL-CIO and Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG) have been among the opposition.

Posted by Info Center at 11:39 AM in Laws/Legislation | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: California

Source: By Paul Nussbaum, Philadelphia Inquirer (PA), Fri, May. 2, 2008

Turbulent financial markets have hampered prospective bidders for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, prompting the Rendell administration to extend the bidding period for several weeks.

The field of potential bidders for the turnpike has shrunk from 14 teams to about five, Roy Kienitz, deputy chief of staff to Rendell, said yesterday. So far, none has submitted a bid.

Posted by Info Center at 11:33 AM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink

Source: By TOM HELD, Journal Sentinel (WI), April 30, 2008

Milwaukee and 22 other metropolitan areas are "coasting on prosperity" while largely heading for a massive pothole because of a lack of planning and funding for roads, public transportation and other infrastructure, according to an analysis distributed Tuesday. Repeating recent calls of crisis over the nation's deteriorating highways and bridges, the report from the Washington-based Urban Land Institute pushed for alternative funding sources to fill the shortfall in necessary infrastructure investment.

..... Public-private partnerships, similar to those that helped finance work on the Chicago Skyway and Indiana Toll Roads, are the favored option of Dale Anne Reiss, the global director of real estate for Ernst & Young LLP. Reiss participated in the analysis as an adviser.

Posted by Info Center at 3:51 PM in Transportation | Permalink

Source: Reason Foundation, April 10, 2008

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is one of the country's least cost-efficient toll roads, spending a whopping 62.4 percent of its toll revenues on operating and maintenance costs. Of 35 toll roads studied, only the Massachusetts and West Virginia turnpikes spend a higher percentage of their toll revenues on operating costs, according to a new report by the Reason Foundation, a free market think tank that has advised the last four presidential administration on transportation issues.

By comparison, the New York State Thruway has 51 percent more lane miles and handles 83 percent more vehicle miles traveled than the Pennsylvania Turnpike, but its annual costs are $39 million lower.

Over the last seven years the Pennsylvania Turnpike's operating costs have more than doubled from $181 million in fiscal 2000 to $370 million in fiscal 2007. During that same time, the U.S. inflation rate was 23.4 percent, so the Turnpike's costs grew at 4.5 times the rate of inflation.

Posted by Info Center at 3:35 PM in Transportation | Permalink

Source: BY FRAN SPIELMAN, Chicago Sun Times (IL), April 2, 2008

Six teams -- one including some of the same players who paid $1.82 billion to lease the Chicago Skyway -- will vie for the right to make Midway Airport the nation's first privately-run commercial airport.

....... Roughly $1.3 billion of the windfall will be used to pay off Midway Airport debt. Up to half of the net proceeds will be used to shore up under-funded city employee pension funds. The rest will be used to build libraries, parks, schools, museums, police and fire stations.

Posted by Info Center at 10:58 AM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Illinois

Source: By Bill Ruthhart, Indianapolis Star, March 31, 2008

Each of the 21 plazas on the Indiana Toll Road will offer electronic tolling starting Tuesday, but fees will be about double for commuters who do not use i-Zoom passes. The toll increases were scheduled as part of the June 2006 agreement by the state to lease the Northern Indiana highway to a private consortium for 75 years at a price tag of $3.8 billion.

Posted by Info Center at 2:39 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Indiana

Source: By Lyndsey Layton and Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, Monday, March 17, 2008

...... For Gribbin, Duvall and Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, the goal is not just to combat congestion but to upend the traditional way transportation projects are funded in this country. They believe that tolls paid by motorists, not tax dollars, should be used to construct and maintain roads. They and other political appointees have spent the latter part of President Bush's two terms laboring behind the scenes to shrink the federal role in road-building and public transportation.

They have also sought to turn highways into commodities that can be sold or leased to private firms and used by motorists for a price. In Duvall and Gribbin's view, unleashing the private sector and introducing market forces could lead to innovation and more choices for the public, much as the breakup of AT&T transformed telecommunications.

Posted by Info Center at 2:09 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Federal | Transportation | Permalink

Source: Paul Nussbaum, Philadelphia Inquirer (PA), Tue, Mar. 4, 2008

A study done for state House Democrats has concluded that it is unwise to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private operator, as Gov. Rendell hopes to do. Instead, the study supported the legislature's move to keep the Turnpike Commission, raise tolls on the turnpike, and introduce tolls on I-80. The study, by three experts from Pennsylvania State and Harvard Universities, is to be formally released today in Harrisburg.

Posted by Info Center at 2:46 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Pennslyvania

Source: CUPE.com, February 26, 2008

A British government inquiry into a P3 to upgrade London's subway system concludes the scheme was a "spectacular failure".

In a report released late last month, the House of Commons Transport Committee said the private consortium's "pathetic underdelivery" should be a warning against future P3 contracts.

Posted by Info Center at 10:43 AM in Transportation | Permalink

Source: BY KEITH BENMAN, Northwest Indiana Times (IN), Thursday, February 28, 2008 | 20 comment(s)

Gov. Mitch Daniels told a conservative Washington think tank on Monday that leasing Gary/Chicago International Airport to a private operator represents a "heck of an opportunity" for Gary.

Posted by Info Center at 3:03 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Indiana

Source: By Mary Beth Almond, C & G News (MI), Feb. 22.

Members of Birmingham Public Schools' custodial and transportation staff are up in arms about the district's exploration of possible changes to school services.

...... On Feb. 5, an alert from the Michigan American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 25 was placed next to the agenda outside the Board of Education meeting room for members of the community to pick up on their way into the meeting.

The flier, endorsed by Michigan AFSCME Council 25 President Albert Garrett and Secretary-Treasurer Lawrence A. Roehrig, stated, "As public school districts consider choosing moving forward with plans to privatize school services, they are treading a well-worn and ill-chosen path filled with pitfalls."

Posted by Info Center at 2:52 PM in Custodial | Schools K-12 | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Michigan

Source: STNG News Service (IL), February 13, 2008

Mayor Richard Daley's plan to privatize Midway Airport to generate billions to shore up city pensions and rebuild Chicago's aging infrastructure is cleared for take-off: Five of seven airlines have signed off on the deal, the first of its kind in the nation.

Posted by Info Center at 2:02 PM in Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Illinois

Source: Government Accountability Office, GAO-08-44 February 8, 2008

Highway public-private partnerships have resulted in advantages for state and local governments, such as obtaining new facilities and value from existing facilities without using public funding. The public can potentially obtain other benefits, such as sharing risks with the private sector, more efficient operations and management of facilities, and, through the use of tolling, increased mobility and more cost effective investment decisions. There are also potential costs and trade-offs--there is no "free" money in public-private partnerships and it is likely that tolls on a privately operated highway will increase to a greater extent than they would on a publicly operated toll road. There is also the risk of tolls being set that exceed the costs of the facility, including a reasonable rate of return, should a private concessionaire gain market power because of the lack of viable travel alternatives. Highway public-private partnerships are also potentially more costly to the public than traditional procurement methods and the public sector gives up a measure of control, such as the ability to influence toll rates. Finally, as with any highway project, there are multiple stakeholders and trade-offs in protecting the public interest.

Posted by Info Center at 3:32 PM in Transportation | Permalink

Source: AFSCME Council 5

A website with information and resources for fighting privatization. Special sections for transportation, corrections and care givers including anti-privatization advertisements.

Minnesota's public services should not be for sale to the lowest bidder. Essential services are government's responsibility.

It's risky business to let cut-rate workers plow our roads, keep our dangerous criminals behind bars, and care for our sick and vulnerable.

Posted by Info Center at 11:33 AM in Corrections | Health | Transportation | Websites/databases | Permalink
Tags: Minnesota

Source: By STEVE SCHULTZE, Journal Sentinel (WI), Feb. 1, 2008

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. on Thursday blasted the private security firm hired to guard local buses, questioning whether the $1.1 million annual cost was worth it.

Wackenhut Corp., an international company headquartered in Florida, has provided security for Milwaukee County Transit System buses since 1993. Clarke said in a letter to the County Board that the company had "top-heavy administration that leads to fewer people actually performing a security function."

...... Clarke said Wackenhut had refused to provide detailed information about its bus security operations to his department. He also said Wackenhut guards spent too little time riding buses.

Posted by Info Center at 10:59 AM in Horror Stories | Public Safety | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Wisconsin

Source: By Amy Gardner, Washington Post (VA), Monday, January 28, 2008

Private equity investors are drawing up proposals to partner with Virginia for a rail line to Dulles International Airport as hope fades that the federal government will help fund the 23-mile Metrorail extension.

State officials said several equity groups have expressed interest in investing in a rail since Thursday, when U.S. transportation officials declared the project unfit for federal funding. The $5 billion project had been counting on a $900 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration.

Private purchase of the rail line or the Dulles Toll Road to fund the extension would attract strong opposition from those who believe such public infrastructure is far too valuable to hand over to for-profit corporations. But with the outlook for keeping the rail project alive bleak, regional business and political leaders who are adamant that the rail line must not die are increasingly of the mind that private partnership must be considered.

Posted by Info Center at 1:26 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Virginia

Source: By Tom Hester Jr., Associated Press, January 27, 2008

Highways built by U.S. taxpayers are being leased to foreign-owned companies by cash-starved states, but New Jersey is weighing another approach amid worry such deals mean states lose control of crucial highways and potential profits.

New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine has rejected the traditional highway leases other states and cities are employing to raise billions of dollars to fund transportation projects.

Rather, the Democratic governor who once led Goldman Sachs has proposed creating a non-profit corporation to manage toll roads and issue bonds paid back by increasing tolls on some of the nation's busiest highways.

Posted by Info Center at 1:20 PM in Nonprofits | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: New Jersey

Source: By ABBY GOODNOUGH, New York Times, January 24, 2008

The two companies that managed the design and construction of the costly Big Dig project here will pay more than $400 million in an agreement with the government over leaky tunnels and a fatal ceiling collapse.

US Attorney Office - District of Massachusetts news release: Big Dig Management Consultant and Designers To Pay $450 Million (.pdf)

Posted by Info Center at 10:43 AM in Horror Stories | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Massachusetts

Source: UPI, Jan. 15, 2008 at 2:33 PM

A study suggests privatizing U.S. toll roads might result in significant diversions of truck traffic that could cause increased accidents and costs. Penn State University Assistant Professor Peter Swan and Michael Belzer of Wayne State University used federal and Ohio Turnpike data to conclude that if governments allow private toll road operators to maximize profits, higher tolls will divert trucks to local roads -- and that is important for economic and social reasons.

...... The study was presented Monday in Washington during the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board.

Penn State news release: Toll road privatization may result in indirect impacts

Posted by Info Center at 2:07 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink

Source: HOPE YEN, Associated Press, January 15, 2008

Federal gasoline taxes should be raised up to 40 cents per gallon over five years, a special commission urged Tuesday in calling for drastic changes to fix aging bridges and roads and reduce traffic deaths.

The two-year study by the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission is the first to recommend broad changes after the devastating bridge collapse in Minneapolis last August. It warns that urgent action is needed to avoid future disasters.

....... But the proposals for improving the nation's transportation system, which are expected to cost $225 billion each year for the next 50 years, is at risk of stalling because of internal division. The commission's chairwoman, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, and two other members oppose gas tax increases and were issuing a dissenting opinion to the report that said private-sector investment and tolls would be sufficient.

........The report also calls for the country to rebuild and expand its rail network to meet a growing demand for alternatives to congested highways and to promote partnerships between the public and private sectors at U.S. ports.

Posted by Info Center at 10:56 AM in Federal | Transportation | Permalink

Source: By Donna Beutler, Whitewood Herald, December 3rd, 2007

It was bad news for private school bus owners who will no longer be in the business of providing bus service for students in the Prairie Valley School Division (PVSD) following the board's decision to have its own fleet of buses in operation by August of 2008. The motion was supported by six board members and opposed by four.

Private bus owners were shocked to hear the news that the decision had been made at special meeting of the board on November 23rd and according to local bus owners like Les Beutler and Kevin White last Thursday when The Herald spoke to them, they had not yet been notified of the decision by the Prairie Valley office.

Posted by Info Center at 11:27 AM in Publicization | Schools K-12 | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Canada

Source: GAO-08-198, January 8, 2008

Pressure on state and local governments to deliver highway projects and services, and limits on the ability of state departments of transportation (state DOT) to increase staff levels have led those departments to contract out a variety of highway activities to the private sector. As requested, this report addresses (1) recent trends in the contracting of state highway activities, (2) factors that influence state highway departments' contracting decisions, (3) how state highway departments ensure the protection of the public interest when work is contracted out, and (4) the Federal Highway Administrations' (FHWA) role in ensuring that states protect the public interest. To complete this work, GAO reviewed federal guidelines, state auditor reports, and other relevant literature; conducted a 50-state survey; and interviewed officials from 10 selected state highway departments, industry officials, and FHWA officials.

State DOTs have increased the amount and type of highway activities they contract out to consultants and contractors. State DOTs are also giving consultants and contractors more responsibility for ensuring quality in highway projects, including using consultants to perform construction engineering and inspection activities as well as quality assurance activities.

Full Report (PDF, 74 pages)

Posted by Info Center at 11:16 AM in Transportation | Permalink

Source: By LARRY HIGGS, Gannett News (NJ), Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Experts are calling Gov. Corzine's plan to borrow against future toll increases as a privatization plan with the state's proposed Public Benefit Corporation taking the place of a private company.

"All he did was substitute "Public Benefit Corporation' for "private owner,' " said Jon Peters, professor of finance at the College of Staten Island, who has studied toll roads and monetization deals in other states. "The question is how much burden is being placed on the road user to pay off the debt."

........ A major difference with other monetization deals is that the state continues to own the toll roads, Corzine said. He stressed they will not be sold or leased to a private company.

Posted by Info Center at 11:13 AM in Transportation | Permalink
Tags: New Jersey

Source: Associated Press (MD), January 8, 2008

The Maryland Transportation Authority says it is seeing the benefits it expected when it privatized its Bay Bridge drive-over service.

Until last summer, the agency's vehicle recovery technicians drove nervous motorists across the bridge at no charge.

The service was privatized last spring to allow the workers to focus on their primary job, responding to disabled vehicles and other emergencies.

........ Kent Island Coach of Stevensville says it has handled more than 1,700 drive-overs since last May. The fee is $25 for motorists and $30 to transport bicycles.

Posted by Info Center at 11:11 AM in Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Maryland

Source: By Joseph Ryan, Daily Herald (IL), January 6, 2008

.......... The violation enforcement system is key to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's new Open Road Tolling initiative, which eliminated barrier toll plazas for highway-speed I-PASS lanes that rely on cameras and heavy fines to keep drivers paying.

The tollway botched a critical element of the system when it failed to send out violation notices for the 13 months between July 2006 and August 2007.

Tollway officials blame the delay on a mix-up after switching companies that run the violation enforcement system.

.......Officials with the new company, Texas-based Electronic Transaction Consultants, said they didn't expect the switchover to cause such a long delay, but it couldn't be avoided.

....... In 2002, the state's auditor general blasted tollway officials for failing to routinely send out violations over the previous two years. Tollway officials said at the time the job of sifting through scofflaw license plate pictures and matching them in a license database was too complex for in-house staff.

They hired TransCore to do it for $38 million over three years.

Related article from the Daily Herald: Critics call for reform of toll collection system

Posted by Info Center at 11:20 AM in Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Illinois

Source: By STEVE SCHULTZE, Journal Sentinel (WI), Posted: Dec. 24, 2007

Privatizing the operation of Mitchell International Airport could bring as much as $1 billion to the county, a tantalizing prospect that's captured the attention of Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker.

..... "You can always generate savings on labor costs if you cut wages and benefits," said Richard Abelson, executive director of District Council 48 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union. "That doesn't necessarily translate into a better airport."

Posted by Info Center at 2:44 PM in Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Wisconsin

Source: Landline Magazine, December 18, 2007

In hopes of tapping into public-private partnerships to build highways in Nevada, a special panel created by the governor has decided to call on state lawmakers to make it happen.

The study committee, created by Gov. Jim Gibbons, recommended asking the Nevada Legislature to authorize pursuing deals with private groups to build highways.

Posted by Info Center at 11:40 AM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Nevada

Source: The Associated Press (FL), 11/26/2007

Faced with a $2.5 billion budget shortfall over the next two years, Florida officials are considering selling 50-year leases on Alligator Alley and other state toll roads and bridges in exchange for large sums of cash from private investors.

In a preliminary study, the Florida's Department of Transportation estimated a 50-year lease on Tampa's Sunshine Skyway Bridge could be worth $1.3 billion if investors were allowed to set tolls at ''market rates.'' Alligator Alley could bring in $1.3 billion as well, according to the estimates.

Posted by Info Center at 11:22 AM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink
Tags: Florida

Source: James Ridgeway, Mother Jones, November 1, 2007

How a company called Traffic.com landed an exclusive government contract worth millions to gather data on the nation's highways--and then sold the information back to us.

Posted by Info Center at 4:32 PM in Transportation | Websites/databases | Permalink

Source: By Barbara Kiviat, Time, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007

....... For states and cities looking to upgrade or replace aging infrastructure, partnering with private players is the biggest idea to come along since the interstate highway system started ribboning the country with asphalt in the 1950s. The appeal: governments can stop worrying about roads, bridges and tunnels, and companies get lucrative leases that allow them to collect money from drivers for generations. The craze is being driven by investors who crave the steady cash flow of decades' worth of tolls. There are 71 projects worth $104 billion being considered for private development by state and local governments, according to the publication Public Works Financing. The proposals are feeding a new pack of investment funds from the likes of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and the Carlyle Group--as well as controversy over how roads should be paid for.

....... At the core of the debate is a fundamental issue: Is building roads one of those things, like trade policy, that only the Federal Government should steer, or is there a better way?

Posted by Info Center at 1:42 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink

Source: By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA), Wednesday, October 17, 2007

State officials have accomplished the first two steps toward converting Interstate 80 into a toll road, starting with signing a 50-year lease agreement between the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

Posted by Info Center at 11:23 AM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink

Source: Maryland General Assembly, Department of Legislative Services (.pdf), Office of Policy Analysis

Beginning with the construction of the highway interstate network, highways and transit have typically been funded by federal and state aid derived from the motor fuel tax. However, given the national reluctance to increase the motor fuel tax coupled with more fuel efficient automobiles, motor fuel tax revenue growth has not kept pace with construction costs. In addition, there has been an increasing demand for transportation system preservation and new projects to meet the increasing demands of congestion. To address the needs of residents and the relative static growth in the motor fuel tax, a new national trend appears to be developing in financing transportation projects.

Specifically, a growing national interest is developing in partnering with the private sector to access cash and equity that might not otherwise be available for transportation projects. The relationship between the public and private sector is commonly known as a public-private partnership (P3). The partnership can take several forms, including the State leasing an existing revenue generating State asset to a private entity for operation in exchange for a lump sum payment. Alternatively, the private sector can construct a transportation infrastructure project, generally a toll road, for the right to collect future revenues.

....... In considering P3s and the role of private finance in transportation infrastructure, there are a number of issues for the State to consider, including the role of the legislature, the legal framework for such an agreement, and how the State should engage the private sector.

Posted by Info Center at 3:19 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink

Source: By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA), Friday, October 12, 2007

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission officials are to formally sign a landmark lease no later than Monday to convert Interstate 80 into a toll road.

The 50-year agreement is designed to create what they call a unique "public-public partnership" to generate a total of $116 billion.

Posted by Info Center at 3:10 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink

Source: By MONICA DAVEY, New York Times, October 12, 2007

...... But the span, the Ambassador Bridge, is owned not by either country, not by the cities of Detroit or Windsor, Detroit's Canadian neighbor, and not by some public bridge authority. It is owned by one man and his privately held company. In a remarkable arrangement for a crossing so major, Manuel J. Moroun, a reclusive billionaire from Detroit's suburbs who oversees a trucking empire, owns the bridge, one of only two privately owned bridges along the United States' entire northern border and by far the most economically significant privately owned bridge in the nation. ........ In a confluence of concerns over national border security, safety of the nation's stock of bridges and an economic crisis in Michigan, the unusual arrangement here has prompted a simple question: Who should own a bridge?.

Posted by Info Center at 3:05 PM in Transportation | Permalink

Source: By George Diepenbrock, Journal News, October 2, 2007

Lawrence's yellow school buses will soon get a name change with the announcement of a multi-billion-dollar acquisition today by a Scottish bus and rail operating company.

Lawrence's yellow school buses will soon get a name change with the announcement of a multi-billion-dollar acquisition today by a Scottish bus and rail operating company. Watch

Yellow school buses in Lawrence and across the nation will soon have a new name on the side, but company and school district leaders expect no major changes.

First Group PLC of the United Kingdom on Monday announced completion of its $3.4 billion acquisition of Laidlaw International Inc., which includes Laidlaw Education Services and Greyhound Lines. The Lawrence school district has a contract for transportation services through 2011 with Laidlaw, which is now called First Student.

Posted by Info Center at 3:22 PM in School Bus | Schools K-12 | Transportation | Permalink

Source: By JEROME R. STOCKFISCH The Tampa Tribune (FL), Sep 27, 2007

...... Now, the state lottery and a handful of toll roads and bridges are drawing the interest of private investors who are putting a price tag on those assets and want a piece of the action.

Facing a $1.1 billion hole in the state budget because of an economic slowdown, the state is listening.

This summer, major Wall Street firms approached Florida, as they have other states, with the prospect of leasing the state lottery.

Posted by Info Center at 3:07 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Lottery | Transportation | Permalink

Source: By Hank Gross, Daily Freeman (NY), 09/27/2007

NEW WINDSOR - The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey intends to take over the operation of Stewart International Airport on Nov. 1, but before that can be accomplished, a number of steps must be completed.

The state Transportation Department, the airport's owner, is in the process of revising the operating lease, which was written for National Express Corp. about six years ago. The remaining 93 years of that lease is being sold to the Port Authority.

......The Port Authority is paying $78.5 million for the remainder of the airport lease. National Express paid $35 million for it in 2001.

Posted by Info Center at 3:20 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Publicization | Transportation | Permalink

Source: WTAP News (OH), 11:22 PM Sep 24, 2007

The Ohio Association of Public School Employees, or OAPSE, says the Marietta City Schools Board of Education is considering outsourcing bus drivers and custodial staff to cut costs.

People were saying this is a trend that has happened in larger cities in Ohio but here staff members are afraid if this happens, they will be out of jobs. Nearly one hundred employees, students, and parents lined the driveway of Marietta High School carrying placards in support of long-time employees.

Posted by Info Center at 10:44 AM in Schools K-12 | Transportation | Permalink

Source: BY LARRY LEBOWITZ, Miami Herald (FL), Mon, Sep. 24, 2007

....... Florida is in another budgetary down cycle.

...... Faced with multibillion-dollar shortfalls, Gov. Charlie Crist is considering selling long-term leases on such valuable state assets as the Florida Lottery and toll roads. ''Everything is still on the table,'' said Pamela Griffis, a spokeswoman for Transportation Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos. ``Nothing is set in stone, but we're looking at everything.''

Posted by Info Center at 1:49 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink

Source: By Josh Verges, Argus Leader (SD), September 17, 2007

In three years of camera traffic enforcement at a downtown Sioux Falls intersection, red-light runners have paid $1.59 million in tickets. The city has kept about one-third of that revenue, sending the rest to the Arizona-based camera company. But this year, as drivers continue to pay closer attention to the traffic signals, almost none of the ticket proceeds are staying in the city.

......... In its 2008 budget, Sioux Falls expects to give Redflex all of the $300,000 it collects from drivers.

Posted by Info Center at 2:20 PM in Information Technology | Transportation | Permalink

Source: Misty Bell, The Messenger (AL), September 13, 2007

With gas prices rising (along with the prices for most everything else), the Pike County Road Department is feeling the pressure.

"The bottom line is that there's not enough revenue to maintain the county's roads and bridges at today's prices," Herb Huner, head of the county road department, said.

...... Gov. Bob Riley favors privatization over a new gas tax, Gipson said. Privatization would allow private investors to pay for roads and then charge a toll for their use.

Posted by Info Center at 10:46 AM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink

Source: By RANDY GRIFFITH, The Tribune-Democrat (PA), September 10, 2007 05:36 pm

Airport Director Joseph McKelvey and all other airport employees lost their jobs Monday in a stunning move that turns over management of the county-owned facility to a private company.

MountainTop Technologies subsidiary MTT Aviation Services will operate the airport for $74,500 a year, under an agreement unanimously approved Monday by the Johnstown-Cambria County Airport Authority.

Posted by Info Center at 10:39 AM in Transportation | Permalink

Source: John Kennedy, Orlando Sentinel (FL), September 5, 2007

Looking to plug a $1.1 billion hole in the state budget, Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday that he is considering lots of options -- including turning the state lottery over to private vendors.

The Republican governor also said the state might draw more money into the treasury by allowing private companies to build, service and maintain some Florida roads in exchange for a share of toll revenue.

Posted by Info Center at 11:07 AM in Lottery | Transportation | Permalink

Source: By POLLY ROSS HUGHES, Houston Chronicle (TX), August 31, 2007

The Texas Department of Transportation is pushing Congress to pass a federal law allowing the state to "buy back" parts of existing interstate highways and turn them into toll roads.

The 24-page plan, outlined in a "Forward Momentum" report that escaped widespread attention when published in February, drew prompt objections Thursday from state lawmakers and activists fighting the spread of privately run toll roads.

........ The report not only advocates turning stretches of interstate highways into toll roads, bu