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8.B. - Page 64 of 70 <br />Redwood City Broadway Streetcar/Urban Circulator Study <br />Summary Report <br />willing to contribute to a streetcar/urban circulator <br />system in -lieu of spending the money on their own <br />shuttles. The initial meeting with these stakeholders <br />conducted as part of this study suggested that there <br />are concerns to be overcome, but there may be <br />potential for generating operating funds with this <br />approach. <br />Technology Demonstrations: Transportation <br />technologies are advancing quickly, and the developers <br />of these technologies are looking for ways to showcase <br />and prove the worth of their products. Transportation <br />agencies such as MTC and Caltrans also have interest <br />in supporting tests of new technologies such as <br />autonomous transit shuttle vehicles. This could be a <br />source of funding for an initial urban circulator project. <br />It is important to note that not all of these funding sources <br />can be used to cover costs of operation and maintenance. <br />Finding a sustainable source of operating funds can be the <br />most challenging element of project implementation. <br />Ownership and Operations <br />Implementing a streetcar or urban circulator would require <br />identifying institutions to own and operate the new transit <br />service. Ownership, or project delivery, encompasses the <br />planning, design, construction, and financing of the project. <br />The owner is also the public face of the streetcar or urban <br />circulator system. Operations include day-to-day operation, <br />routine maintenance, and major repairs. These two <br />functions, ownership and operations, may be handled by the <br />same entity or split between two entities. <br />Streetcar and urban circulator systems around the country <br />were reviewed in a best practices analysis for both <br />ownership and service operations. The findings were as <br />follows: <br />Ownership: most streetcar systems are owned by the <br />city, though the sources of the funding for the project <br />may influence the ownership structure. For example, in <br />public/private partnerships, in which a private <br />company or business association helps to fund the <br />project, a non-profit corporation is a common <br />ownership option. <br />■ Operations: cities don't generally have the expertise <br />to be an operator. A common option to correct for this <br />is for the city to own the system, but contract out the <br />operation to a public operator or a private company. <br />The possible entities that could own a new transit service <br />were identified and evaluated as shown in Table 3. <br />Smith <br />607 <br />