Franco-American seminar on public–private partnerships in transport
Florence Menez 01-08-2008
A Franco-American seminar on PPPs (public–private partnerships) for transport took place from 6 to 8 July. Organised by the economic wing of the French Embassy in Washington DC, this seminar brought together around 80 participants from both sides of the Atlantic. Jean-Pierre Allain, Thierry Gouin and Florence Menez represented Certu at this event.
Today, it is obvious that the public sector no longer has sufficient resources of its own to finance all the developments required by public transport networks, especially in a context where demand is likely to increase in years to come (cf. the Grenelle de l’Environnement [the French government’s environmental round table]).
France benefits from a long history of public–private partnerships, particularly in the field of public transport, in a wide variety of forms:
- widespread practice of outsourcing public services for the operation of transport networks;
- the construction of several metro (Toulouse) and tram lines (Grenoble, Strasbourg, Rouen, Caen) as concessions in the 1990s;
- new segregated public transport projects as concessions (Reims tramway, "Leslys" airport link in Lyon) or as partnership contracts (Réunion tram-train), etc.
Boosted by this experience, a number of French groups are now world leaders when it comes to securing complex financing packages and developing innovative technical solutions. The French State, for its part, with the introduction of the new public–private "partnership contract" formula, has shown that it is willing to promote public–private partnerships in all fields.
In parallel, in the United States, local authorities are seeking new ways of financing the development of public transport networks. One solution is to finance public transport routes through real-estate projects (as in the case of Charlotte in North Carolina or San Francisco in California).
One of the objectives of this seminar was to foster dialogue and discussion surrounding several different visions of PPPs, and to work together to find more innovative solutions that are better adapted to the construction of efficient public transport networks able to serve sustainable cities. You can download Thierry Gouin’s presentation opposite.
