Innovative Financing Sessions Deliver Fresh Ideas at IBTTA Annual Meeting
Amy Potter, Chief Financial Officer at the Transportation Corridor Agencies in southern California, leads the finance and funding track for IBTTA’s 82nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition, September 14-17, 2014 in Austin, Texas. In this interview with Tolling Points, she stresses the importance of innovative funding and financing strategies in an era of limited transportation dollars.
TP: What are the most important industry news and trends in your track?
AP: As funding for transportation and infrastructure improvements becomes more scarce, it is essential to implement innovative financing methods. As a result, we have seen more and more toll facilities and managed lane projects coming online around the world.
Along with those projects comes a whole host of challenges in balancing revenue, risk, and investor concerns with governance and policy decisions. At the same time, changing demographics, advancing technology, and environmental and regulatory requirements have an impact on how we make financing, traffic, and revenue forecasting decisions, and how those factors affect rating agency and investor views.
TP: How are those content priorities reflected in this year's Annual Meeting program?
AP: We have developed three finance/funding sessions that deal directly with these issues. They include the latest view from executive directors and CFOs of tolling and managed lanes projects, as well as rating agencies and TIFIA. I expect some very lively discussion and debate on these topics.
TP: The Annual Meeting is one of the main opportunities each year for the IBTTA community to gather from around the world. How will the networking and informal conversations during the conference help advance the industry in your specific track area?
AP: Some of the best ideas come from informal discussions with others in the field, especially when you get to discuss a topic with such a diverse group. Financing and funding affect everyone, so our goal in this track is to leave participants with a lot of material they feel compelled to share with colleagues who attended other sessions.
The different perspectives and experiences they take away will result in ideas that can be brought back to the various agencies, professions, and policy-makers. That’s what we hope will make a difference for participants and their organizations in the months after the Annual Meeting.
Click here to learn more about IBTTA’s 82nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition, September 14-17, 2014 in Austin, Texas.