Recently in Transportation Category

Source: By Daniel C. Vock, Stateline.org, Tuesday, August 12, 2008

....... Meanwhile, she said, governors are "angry" because the Bush administration is promoting partnerships with private companies to lease or manage public assets such as toll roads or airports, rather than offering states more money.

....... The public-private partnerships promoted by the Bush administration are problematic politically, Rendell said. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D), like Rendell, encountered stiff resistance when promoting these kinds of arrangements, and the joint ventures would not be the "panacea" the federal Department of Transportation promised, Corzine said.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.