[Edit: According to a recent report, Metrolinx and the TTC had come to an agreement where the TTC will operate the new LRT lines under construction. This is worthy of mentioning, but I don't feel it changes the substance of the post below. There remains much confusion about what AFP actually means, regardless of the contractor being a public agency like the TTC or a private corporation like Bombardier or Veolia. Of course, I am curious as to what concessions (if any) the TTC made for Metrolinx to suspect the competitive bidding process - as the provincial agency could have easy told the TTC to put in a bid alongside everyone else.]

As one may have heard, Metrolinx has decided to use a private partner to built, maintain and operate the Eglinton Crosstown LRT line instead of turning over responsibility to the TTC. The province’s term for this kind of contract is “alternative financing and procurement” (AFP), but the more common industry term is “build-operate-maintain”. Since this story broke I have read a wide range of doom-and-gloom scenarios of what this means, but the common thread among them is what I feel to be a misunderstand of what this decision means for the rider experience and administration of the project. In this post, I would like to take the time to dispel some of these myths. Debate is healthy on this and all other subjects, but we need to ensure that we know what is (and what is not) being proposed or else the debate will end up chasing after a thousand red herrings. While I have not seen any proposed contracts in this matter, I will try my best to describe how they are typically structured.
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