Reviewing

Review of the key messages and resources of this course

1. Summing up

bWe hope you've found this TIDE course on creating a metropolitan public transport authority useful and that we have provided you with some interesting ideas and examples, as well as the opportunity to learn from and with your colleagues across Europe.

Just to sum up, some of the key points we hope you'll take away:

  1. MPTAs are created for a variety of reasons, such as expanding from an urban to a metropolitan public transport authority (PTA), separating a PTA from an existing PT operator, or creating a more multi-modal transport system (rail, bus, public bikes, ferries, parking, taxi, etc.) which is managed by one body.
  2. They can be an effective response to suburbanisation and urban sprawl by providing access to modes other than the personal car, thereby encouraging people to settle in areas that are well served by PT.
  3. MPTAs come in a number of shapes, sizes and forms, with varying scopes of responsibilities. They don't necessarily manage all modes (such as railway or urban transport). Each metropolitan area needs to find its own optimum distribution of responsibility within its own legal system and local context.
  4. Political obstacles to the creation of MPTAs can be overcome by creating precise decision and settlement rules in a  flexible system that takes into account the diversity of levels of wealth of the different authorities involved and some upfront co-financing (or financing).
  5. Optimally, a PTA should be co-owned and co-managed by all relevant authorities in the given area. If this is not possible, the MPTA should cooperate with other authorities, relying on contractual solutions.
  6. Most successful MPTAs rely on (at least some) upstream financing, such as government grants.
  7. MPTA revenue can be allocated based on fixed schemes, supply based schemes, or demand based schemes.
  8. Separation of the strategic (political) and operational (managerial) levels is one of the key success factors of a well-functioning MPTA.
  9. All institutions involved in MPTA decision-making should base their decisions on objective information from periodic marketing research, operational data, and the set-up of a passenger council.
  10. Financial benefits, especially upstream financing is a good motivation for institutions to integrate into a MPTA.