New Urban Transportation Projects in Development

Monday, June 2, 2014

TAC's Urban Transportation Council is recommending the development of two new projects. 

Organizations may be interested in participating in the following projects, and the related project steering committees, as partners.  

1.      Lessons Learned from P3 Projects in Public Transit

Advanced by the Transportation Finance Standing Committee, this project would develop an inventory of experiences and lessons learned from P3s in public transportation to complement TAC’s Synthesis of Practices for Implementing Public-Private Partnerships in Transportation Related Projects (2013).

The 2013 synthesis focused mainly on road and highway projects delivered through the use of public-private partnerships (P3). This new ‘Lessons Learned’ project uses the 2013 synthesis as a point of reference but will be specific to public transportation and recognizes the relative lack of Canadian experience in public transportation P3s. 

Tasks undertaken as part of the new project will include:

  • Conducting a selective literature review and survey about Canadian and American P3 experiences
  • Defining P3s for public transportation and how they differ from road and highway P3s
  • Developing a list of attributes describing key features of public transportation P3s
  • Preparing a list of existing and proposed Canadian, U.S. and international public transportation P3s and surveying relevant Canadian agencies

A publication that synthesizes the results of the research and presents key lessons learned will be the final deliverable of this project. 

2.      Defining and Measuring Congestion

The availability of GPS-based travel data has allowed travelers to obtain real-time information on traffic conditions. However the information provided by private-sector providers of this data is often inconsistent with more statistically reliable congestion measurements supplied by urban authorities.

Some urban authorities have identified the need to develop practical guidelines and standards for measuring and monitoring traffic congestion. Recommended by the Transportation Planning and Research Standing Committee, the project would address this need while defining congestion and its importance to transportation planning, operational and investment decisions.

This project would provide guidance on:

  • Collecting and using available data sources
  • Defining congestion, its measurements and objectives
  • Clarifying types of needs and users ranging from road user information and operations management to quantifying congestion over a region.
  • Assessing different approaches to measure congestion and their limitations

Organizations interested in participating as project partners of either of these two urban transportation projects in development should contact Craig Stackpole.

A brief overview of Pooled Fund Projects provides a snapshot of why and how organizations become involved.

 


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