Regardless of their specific financial situations, urban transport providers all over the world are continually looking to strengthen their current funding model, as well as develop new sources of revenue. Fortunately, public transport, cities and businesses thrive simultaneously: there’s a potential win-win-win situation here.
Public transport provides an increased connectivity to businesses, allowing more people to travel smoothly within the urban space available. The maths is simple: more people reaching more employment and businesses more easily will result in more job opportunities, sales, and tourism, spurring local economic growth.
Within UITP, we strive to engage members to face complexities, identify alternative approaches, and provide economic and financial solutions for public transport stakeholders. As Chair I aim for the UITP Transport Economics & Finance Committee to be the main forum for cutting edge discussions on these matters within our sector.
UITP engages with local governments and businesses to encourage investments in public transport infrastructure, as well as to explore the benefits of innovative funding mechanisms, such as Land Value Capture, to apportion a fair part of the economic value generated by the increase in land value where public transport is developed. There is no doubt that public transport is always a sound investment.
At UITP, we are furthermore playing our role within the Transport Economics & Finance Committee to share new financial strategies to improve efficiency and reduce costs by increasing customer focus, thereby improving value for money and increasing the attractiveness of our services.