Op-Ed: Transportation Assets Should Generate Revenue

According to this article by Scott Rawlins, transportation departments should consider unorthodox ways to make money from what they own. In the quest for value extraction, "Leaders of state and regional transportation departments seeking efficiencies should start by taking a broader view of what their agencies own."

Rawlins makes the case for public-private partnerships to generate revenue from substantial and often centrally-located transport infrastructure. "Even when infrastructure is well maintained, however, many transportation agencies continue to view their assets as merely a drain on their budgets. But in recent years some agencies have gotten more creative. Rest areas and welcome/visitor centers on highways may present a good opportunity for selling food, goods and services through specialized outsourced service providers as well as for corporate-branding sponsorships."

Data and advertising space are potential moneymakers. Additionally, "One particularly valuable, yet often unexploited asset, is land. A thorough review of an agency's real-estate portfolio often reveals surplus or underutilized properties or plots which could be leased, sold, developed or put to joint use."