More On Public And Private

It will be a debate that is going to heat up over the next year as decisions are being made about who should own and operate the new bridge if one will ever be built. Should it all be public or private or some combination of both.

Who will finance it? Do the traffic numbers justify spending billions for a new crossing when you take into account the costs of roads, bridge and plazas never mind the annual operating costs. Government could do it but will they when there are other demands on the public purse.

Do the math yourself to determine if there is a business case to be made for private parties to finance the crossing, especially when the Bridge Co.'s 200 booth proposal can clear 50 million vehicles a year at a construction cost only a small fraction of the cost of a new crossing.

My understanding was that even DRTP was never more than 90% financed even when they looked like they might actually be operational. Even then, one of their reps said at a meeting I attended that their payback period was more than 20 years.

It is very clear what the Canadian side wants. If you want a big hint, read the Federal Government's Bill C-44. Has the US accepted this view and gone one step further with the DRIC Vision Statement about expropriating the Ambassador Bridge?

What position will the Bridge Co. take since everyone seems to want to take away their business: litigation, buy-out, partnership.

Of course, I don't want to confuse the situation with facts but it might be interesting, dear reader, for me to provide you with some information from a US Government Federal Highways Department Conditions and Performance Report. You may be shocked, or not, to see who is the best border operator

Now I am NOT picking on the Peace Bridge but wasn't that the model that Brian Masse wanted us to consider when he brought some people up here from Buffalo last summer? Read right to the bottom to see how public bridges price too.

• Delays at International Border Crossings
  
  The FY 2003 FHWA Performance Plan aims to improve the economic efficiency of the U.S. transportation system, thereby enhancing the Nation's position in the global economy. One way to promote improvement is to ensure the continuing mobility and efficiency of cargo shipments as they move along the surface transportation system. An objective of this goal, therefore, is to reduce the hours of delay for commercial motor vehicles entering and leaving the United States at its northern and southern ports-of-entry with Canada and Mexico. The border crossing process is one of the few elements in logistical planning and execution that is almost completely beyond the control of both motor carrier and the shipper. Predicting with certainty the time needed to cross a border crossing is difficult.
  
  Increased traffic volume did not necessarily correlate with significantly increased delay... By contrast, at the Peace Bridge, New York crossing, increases in vehicle volume tended to be a precursor for increased average delay times, with an increase in one leading directly to an increase in the other.
  
  A “buffer time” and “buffer index” for each port-of-entry also was also calculated. The buffer time represents the difference between the 95th percentile crossing time (i.e., the time within which 95 percent of all surveyed trucks passed through the survey checkpoints) and the average crossing time for all trucks. The buffer index is the buffer time expressed as a percentage of average time (i.e., the extra percentage of time that must be budgeted by shippers and motor carriers planning to cross the border at a particular location).
  
  The buffer time for all inbound crossings is almost twice that for outbound traffic. The average buffer time for all outbound crossings was 23.3 minutes, with an average buffer index of 164 percent. The average buffer time for all inbound crossings was 43.3 minutes, with an average buffer index of 162 percent. These aggregated times camouflage the wide variations in the buffer indices at the individual ports-of-entry, however. For example, at the Ambassador Bridge, the buffer index for inbound truck traffic was just over 65 percent, reflecting a 95th percentile time of 33.9 minutes during the average travel time of 20.4 minutes. This indicates that, even with its substantial volume of traffic, operators of the Ambassador Bridge sustained movement across the bridge without imposing lengthy increases in delay times. Contrasting markedly with this was the inbound buffer index at the Peace Bridge of 266 percent, where the 95th percentile time (83.4 minutes) far exceeded the calculated average crossing time (23.3 minutes).
  
  Q.
  What are some additional findings from the review of the seven ports of entry?
  
  A.
  The review reached several other conclusions. For example, the number of inspection and processing booths open at each port-of-entry at any given time has significantly influenced travel time and delay. At many ports, there appeared to be significant variability during the day with respect to the number of booths open at any given time. There is a definite relationship between the number of booths open, the travel demand, and the travel time through the crossing. Decisions on how many to open at any given time are apparently not made purely with mobility or crossing times in mind and are not always made by the transportation agencies.
  
  Speed is an important factor in the movement of cargo, although the security of shipments is now of great concern. Crossing times at Detroit's Ambassador Bridge port-of-entry, as noted above, were markedly different from others in the sample. Despite the bridge's dramatically higher volume of traffic, generally shorter crossing times were achieved. While inbound crossing times exceeded outbound, as at the other six locations, the margin of difference was significantly narrower and more consistent across the sample period. Whether the reason for this difference in performance is a function of policy, bridge ownership, tactics, infrastructure, capacity, or facility design remains to be determined.
  
  The Peace Bridge at Buffalo was found to have the greatest similarity between inbound and outbound average crossing times, registering relatively low among the 7 ports-of-entry in this regard. However, it also demonstrates the highest inbound buffer index (265.7 percent). Thus, while its average crossing times are similar in both directions, the potential exists for motor carriers to be significantly delayed when traveling from Canada into the United States at this location.

By the way, do you want to know how a public bridge decides how to set the price for its tolls? Here's an explanation given in a hearing in the Ontario Legislature some years ago by the secretary-treasurer and Canadian officer of the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority:

"...most not-for-profit international bridges are already bound into major infrastructure expansion programs financed by private United States bond issues. The indentures already include fairly aggressive toll increase schedules over the next decade calculated to the maximum point of consumer resistance." OUCH!