What are the federal funding assumptions for the project?

Case Study Assignment One

MPA 5810 Public-Private Partnerships

Students will individually prepare a typed response to the following questions about the case study Raju,

Sudhakar. (2008). “Project NPV, Positive Externalities, Social Cost-Benefit Analysis—The Kansas City

Light Rail Project.” Journal of Public Transportation. Students may use tables, appendices, calculations,

or references as needed. Students may not consult with one another or seek external help on this

assignment. You should rely on readings from the class as needed.

Please answer the following questions about the Kansas City Light Rail case:

1. What are the federal funding assumptions for the project? How does this assumption relate to other

transit projects?

2. Bent Flyvbjerg encourages a technique known as reference class forecasting to examine infrastructure

projects. Do you see evidence of this approach or similar approach being used in the study? Discuss

the author’s approach.

3. The author utilizes NPV and IRR to examine the cash flows for this project. Based on the Yescombe

reading, what concerns exist with using this approach for this particular project? How does the author

acknowledge these concerns? Do you agree?

4. From a behavioral perspective, do you believe the author’s purported benefits of lower auto travel as

a result of the light rail are realistic? What about the social benefit he conveys as a result of the light

rail?