A regional mobility authority (RMA) is an innovative tool that brings transportation decisions to the local levels and provides local governments the opportunity to accelerate needed projects. An RMA improves mobility, enhances economic development, and provides potential revenue sources through designing, constructing, operating and maintaining tolled or non-tolled roadways, passenger and freight rail, airports, and pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Although the idea of an RMA is not a new way to finance transportation in the United States, Texas House Bill 3588 and its predecessor, Senate Bill 342, have opened the door to debt financing in Texas. With this additional innovative tool to finance transportation projects in Texas, it is important to understand the functions of RMAs and draw conclusions about the effects they might have in the state. To accomplish this task, literature on the subject was reviewed and input from professionals involved in transportation and the RMA process were obtained. Several questions targeted at addressing several key objectives were created. A call list was developed, and from that list eight interviews were conducted with professionals from state agencies, local organizations, and research institutions. Financial options before the introduction of RMAs were compared to current practices in the state, and conclusions were drawn about their effectiveness. Upon completing the interviews and literature review, conclusions about RMAs were drawn on the following topics: (1) Short-term benefits; (2) Short-term problems; (3) Long-term benefits; (4) Long-term problems; (5) Barriers to forming an RMA; and (6) Agency cooperation.
Abstract