Operating and infrastructure entities

In a regulated urban passenger transport system, it is common for independent entities to be established for the management of the operations and the maintenance of infrastructure and other facilities; in some cases, a special-purpose entity is established specifically for the purpose of fare collection. These entities will then typically be funded from charges levied on the users of the system, and hence their costs need to be captured in any fares computation.

The accountability of such entities, and their powers to levy and receive user charges directly, will vary between jurisdictions. In many cases the funds raised need to pass through central budget holders, on whose allocation the entity then becomes dependent. In a deregulated system such linkages are informal at the best, and operating charges (such as permit fees) are mostly paid into central accounts and not returned to the sector.