Funding

Funding for the implementation of land use transport policy and planning initiatives can come from government, at various levels, users of the relevant infrastructure or service or other beneficiaries. This chapter illustrates funding opportunities primarily by looking at public transport, which is often the largest infrastructure funding requirement. Users rarely cover all the operating costs of public transport in low density cities, some governmental funding support being defensible because of the external benefits expected from service provision and/or for reasons of social safety net support, such as to particular transport disadvantaged groups. Principles to inform choices between alternative possible funding measures are provided and a range of possible PT funding mechanisms are assessed against these criteria, suggesting how they might be packaged into bundles for funding purposes. This bundling separates operational and capital funding requirements and suggests how externalities and social inclusion considerations can be managed, outlining tools for valuing external effects.