"As the breadth and pace of transport modeling varies noticeably, it is unwise to seek a magic bullet solution that can easily be replicated across cities and countries.
Transport policy and approach needs "customized" models that encourage better responses to transport needs with more flexible tools and alternative transport service forms.
The past 10 years have witnessed a transition in transport analyses in which two main vested concerns have taken precedence: the environment and transport energy consumption, and demographic processes related to aging and migration, both of which increasingly characterize cities. In this context it is clear that future transport initiatives should demonstrate greater coordination between the demand for mixed-use communities and transport planning in order to anticipate future population demand and promote lower consumption of energy.
To reduce and subsequently mitigate direct and indirect transport consumption effects, we must consider the widest possible range of stimulating and innovative alternatives for transport services and financing.
Within this logic, we need to examine the several interlinked and mutually reinforcing factors between the public and private sector in the provision of transport.
The intransigent approach to project finance typical of the early generation of public private partnerships (PPPs) projects, with their radical transfer of risks to the private sector and a negotiating attitude perceived as excessively antagonistic by private sector operators, needs to be replaced with a more realistic assignment of risks to private parties. But more important is to switch to an attitude that regards partnership as a long-term cooperative relationship for which renegotiation of contract terms is acceptable. The public sector needs to have an array of contributions in PPPs, from conferring assets and providing guarantees to contractual and regulatory measures.
Whereas the private sector needs to acquire a more socially responsive attitude and, in particular, establish mechanisms to incorporate transport users as customers and community-based organizations (CBOs) in order to provide better civic and equitable solutions."
