A Review of Transport Public–Private Partnerships in the UK

Abstract

This chapter has 2 interrelated objectives: first, to review the experience of transport public-private partnerships (PPPs), including roads, bridges, rail, and air traffic control, in the United Kingdom; and second, to present the financial evidence about the actual costs of different types of transport PPPs. The first section considers the first 8 design-build-finance-operate (DBFO) road contracts paid for via a system of shadow tolls by the U.K. Highways Agency and the first (and only) motorway concession. The second section examines first the national railways, reviewing the experience of the passenger rail franchises, which are largely but not entirely subsidized concessions with user charges via passenger fares, and second, a metro system, reviewing the experience of the 3 London Underground PPPs. The third section considers the sale in 2001 of a 51% stake in National Air Traffic Services to the private sector, which the U.K. government has designated a PPP. The final section draws out the implications for accountability and choice of financing method.