Maintenance expenditure

Maintenance expenditure on rolling stock is routinely met by the operator, and included in the direct costs of operation in any fares computation. However maintenance of the infrastructure and common facilities, especially those in public ownership, can prove more problematic. Even where routine repair and maintenance is adequately resourced, periodic maintenance may be neglected; the latter has proved to be a particular problem with tramway systems, and led to their general decline.

The preferred option is for an appropriate infrastructure maintenance provision to be charged to operating costs, and these funds to be allocated to an entity charged with the responsibility for the maintenance. This would be analogous to an explicit fuel levy being used to support a roads fund, as has become widespread practice.