Feds Removing Regulatory Roadblocks for Private Investments in Public Transit

"The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today announced a proposal to facilitate public-private partnerships in public transportation," according to an announcement on the Federal Transit Administration website.

Under the newly proposed Private Investment Project Procedures (PIPP) for public transportation capital projects, "recipients of Federal funding for public transportation projects would be allowed to identify specific FTA regulations, practices, procedures or guidance documents that may be an impediment to the use of a public-private partnership (P3) or private investment in that project." Not only would recipients be able to identify such legal and regulatory impediments, they would also be able "to apply to FTA to request modification or waiver of specific FTA requirements if the recipient demonstrates that those requirements discourage the use of public-private partnerships."

Public comment on the proposed rulemaking is open until September 29, 2017.