Past Abuses and Future Uses of Private Finance and Public Private Partnerships in Transport

The article explains the origins of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and the way the policy has evolved under the present Labour administration into Public Private Partnership (PPP). The author gives an assessment of the future prospects for the PFI/PPP in the transport sector. He believes that PPPs can make a considerable contribution towards efficient transport service delivery and this will be maximized if there is a better understanding of what the policies are seeking to achieve. Much of the action in the immediate future in transport PPPs will be with the local authorities, including the new Greater London Authority.