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Think boldly to finance transit

Here’s something that might bear further investigation and consideration: Public-private partnerships for transit, be they buses or trains.

Public-private partnerships have been used to pay for new highways. What about using financing like that for existing transit lines?

It could be tried on an experimental basis on a segment of the Pace or Metra service jurisdiction. Yes, it would cost more in all likelihood, but that’s one purpose of the experiment: how much will people pay to avoid the hassles of traffic, parking and fixed auto costs?

We used to call these things PPPs for public private partnerships. Investors pony up money to pay costs, and they get a fixed return. Seems to me that Metra and Pace are destined to lose money by design. Let’s make money by design and be creative about ticket prices for those who can’t afford them.

If memory serves, some of a huge I-15 construction project in the Salt Lake City area was PPP financed. Let’s think boldly around here.

Dan Brown

Des Plaines

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