New Report: Public-Private Partnership Model for Port Authority

By conceding ownership, this restructuring would allow for investment in key elements of the New York metro area’s transportation infrastructure.

NEW YORK, NY — The sad state of our country’s transportation infrastructure and the critical need for its improvement form a rare point of bipartisan agreement today. The New York metro area, for its part, is one of the most striking examples of our congested and crumbling bridges, tunnels, and airports. In a new Manhattan Institute report, Robert Poole of the Reason Foundation makes the case that the structure of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is at the root of these myriad problems. The key to future success, Poole contends, is a total reinvention: long-term public-private partnerships, whereby the Port Authority would no longer own or operate transportation infrastructure, but would instead plan and regulate an array of concession companies.

Today, the Port Authority is plagued by politicized decision making, money-losing facilities, and declining financial viability, the price of which extends far beyond scandals and boondoggles. New York metro area residents suffer the worst traffic congestion in the nation, use the three worst of the country’s 30 largest airports, and spend hours on PATH, the least efficient heavy-rail transit system in the country.

A public-private partnership model for the Port Authority would allow for investment in added runway capacity at John F. Kennedy and Newark airports, the reconstruction of aging bridges and tunnels, and a sensible replacement of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, all while improving the day-to-day efficiency of the region’s transportation infrastructure.

Click here to read the full report.