IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecotra/v40y2024ics221201222400039x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Free rides to cleaner air? Examining the impact of massive public transport fare discounts on air quality

Author

Listed:
  • Albalate, Daniel
  • Borsati, Mattia
  • Gragera, Albert

Abstract

We quantify the effect of public transportation fare subsidies on air quality by exploiting the sharp discontinuity in the cost of ridership introduced by policy intervention. We identify this effect by taking advantage of four months of massive discounts for transit services introduced in Spain on September 1, 2022, as part of the national plan to tackle the global energy crisis. Across pollutants and specifications, we find no evidence that low-cost or free-of-charge public transportation financing schemes have improved air quality. Our results reveal that measures aimed at reducing transit prices may fail to achieve the claimed environmental benefits through a modal shift from private to collective modes of transport, which suggests that massive fare discounts may not represent an efficient allocation of public funds.

Suggested Citation

  • Albalate, Daniel & Borsati, Mattia & Gragera, Albert, 2024. "Free rides to cleaner air? Examining the impact of massive public transport fare discounts on air quality," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecotra:v:40:y:2024:i:c:s221201222400039x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecotra.2024.100380
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221201222400039X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecotra.2024.100380?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lucas W. Davis, 2008. "The Effect of Driving Restrictions on Air Quality in Mexico City," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(1), pages 38-81, February.
    2. Nicolas Gendron-Carrier & Marco Gonzalez-Navarro & Stefano Polloni & Matthew A. Turner, 2022. "Subways and Urban Air Pollution," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 164-196, January.
    3. Ian W. H. Parry & Kenneth A. Small, 2009. "Should Urban Transit Subsidies Be Reduced?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(3), pages 700-724, June.
    4. Catherine Hausman & David S. Rapson, 2018. "Regression Discontinuity in Time: Considerations for Empirical Applications," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 533-552, October.
    5. Leonardo J. Basso & Hugo E. Silva, 2014. "Efficiency and Substitutability of Transit Subsidies and Other Urban Transport Policies," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(4), pages 1-33, November.
    6. Adler, Martin W. & van Ommeren, Jos N., 2016. "Does public transit reduce car travel externalities? Quasi-natural experiments' evidence from transit strikes," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 106-119.
    7. Bull, Owen & Muñoz, Juan Carlos & Silva, Hugo E., 2021. "The impact of fare-free public transport on travel behavior: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    8. Sebastian Calonico & Matias D. Cattaneo & Max H. Farrell, 2018. "On the Effect of Bias Estimation on Coverage Accuracy in Nonparametric Inference," Journal of the American Statistical Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 113(522), pages 767-779, April.
    9. Kenneth Y. Chay & Michael Greenstone, 2003. "The Impact of Air Pollution on Infant Mortality: Evidence from Geographic Variation in Pollution Shocks Induced by a Recession," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(3), pages 1121-1167.
    10. Albalate, Daniel & Fageda, Xavier, 2021. "On the relationship between congestion and road safety in cities," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 145-152.
    11. Christopher R. Knittel & Douglas L. Miller & Nicholas J. Sanders, 2016. "Caution, Drivers! Children Present: Traffic, Pollution, and Infant Health," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 98(2), pages 350-366, May.
    12. Javier Asensio, 2002. "Transport Mode Choice by Commuters to Barcelona's CBD," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(10), pages 1881-1895, September.
    13. Ian W. H. Parry & Antonio Bento, 2001. "Revenue Recycling and the Welfare Effects of Road Pricing," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 103(4), pages 645-671, December.
    14. Philippe Gagnepain & Sébastien Massoni & Alexandre Mayol & Carine Staropoli, 2024. "The Effect of Public Transport Pricing Policy: Experimental Evidence," PSE Working Papers halshs-04610702, HAL.
    15. Oded Cats & Yusak O. Susilo & Triin Reimal, 2017. "The prospects of fare-free public transport: evidence from Tallinn," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(5), pages 1083-1104, September.
    16. Gallego, Francisco & Montero, Juan-Pablo & Salas, Christian, 2013. "The effect of transport policies on car use: Evidence from Latin American cities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 47-62.
    17. Stefan Bauernschuster & Timo Hener & Helmut Rainer, 2017. "When Labor Disputes Bring Cities to a Standstill: The Impact of Public Transit Strikes on Traffic, Accidents, Air Pollution, and Health," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 1-37, February.
    18. Ian W. H. Parry & Kenneth A. Small, 2005. "Does Britain or the United States Have the Right Gasoline Tax?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1276-1289, September.
    19. Andrew Gelman & Guido Imbens, 2019. "Why High-Order Polynomials Should Not Be Used in Regression Discontinuity Designs," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 447-456, July.
    20. Webster, Grant, 2024. "Free fare for better air? Evaluating the impacts of free fare public transit on air pollution," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    21. Basso, Leonardo J. & Guevara, Cristián Angelo & Gschwender, Antonio & Fuster, Marcelo, 2011. "Congestion pricing, transit subsidies and dedicated bus lanes: Efficient and practical solutions to congestion," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 676-684, September.
    22. Proost, Stef & Van Dender, Kurt, 2012. "Energy and environment challenges in the transport sector," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 77-87.
    23. Ian W. H. Parry & Margaret Walls & Winston Harrington, 2007. "Automobile Externalities and Policies," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(2), pages 373-399, June.
    24. Beaudoin, Justin & Farzin, Y. Hossein & Lin Lawell, C.-Y. Cynthia, 2015. "Public transit investment and sustainable transportation: A review of studies of transit's impact on traffic congestion and air quality," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 15-22.
    25. Hongyou Lu & Yunchan Zhu & Yu Qi & Jinliang Yu, 2018. "Do Urban Subway Openings Reduce PM 2.5 Concentrations? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-24, November.
    26. Basso, Leonardo J. & Navarro, Matias & Silva, Hugo E., 2021. "Public transport and urban structure," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    27. David S. Lee & Thomas Lemieux, 2010. "Regression Discontinuity Designs in Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(2), pages 281-355, June.
    28. Li, Shanjun & Liu, Yanyan & Purevjav, Avralt-Od & Yang, Lin, 2019. "Does subway expansion improve air quality?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 213-235.
    29. Michael L. Anderson, 2014. "Subways, Strikes, and Slowdowns: The Impacts of Public Transit on Traffic Congestion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(9), pages 2763-2796, September.
    30. Gohl, Niklas & Schrauth, Philipp, 2024. "JUE insight: Ticket to paradise? The effect of a public transport subsidy on air quality," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    31. De Borger, Bruno & Proost, Stef, 2015. "The political economy of public transport pricing and supply decisions," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 95-109.
    32. Bel, Germà & Holst, Maximilian, 2018. "Evaluation of the impact of Bus Rapid Transit on air pollution in Mexico City," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 209-220.
    33. Maximilian Auffhammer & Ryan Kellogg, 2011. "Clearing the Air? The Effects of Gasoline Content Regulation on Air Quality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(6), pages 2687-2722, October.
    34. Holmgren, Johan, 2007. "Meta-analysis of public transport demand," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 41(10), pages 1021-1035, December.
    35. Deepti Goel & Sonam Gupta, 2017. "The Effect of Metro Expansions on Air Pollution in Delhi," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 31(1), pages 271-294.
    36. Lalive, Rafael & Luechinger, Simon & Schmutzler, Armin, 2018. "Does expanding regional train service reduce air pollution?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 744-764.
    37. Hörcher, Daniel & Tirachini, Alejandro, 2021. "A review of public transport economics," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).
    38. Stefan Bauernschuster & Timo Hener & Helmut Rainer, 2017. "When Labor Disputes Bring Cities to a Standstill: The Impact of Public Transit Strikes on Traffic, Accidents, Air Pollution, and Health," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 1-37, February.
    39. Ihab Kaddoura & Kai Nagel, 2018. "Simultaneous internalization of traffic congestion and noise exposure costs," Transportation, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 1579-1600, September.
    40. Yihsu Chen & Alexander Whalley, 2012. "Green Infrastructure: The Effects of Urban Rail Transit on Air Quality," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 4(1), pages 58-97, February.
    41. Sun, Chuanwang & Zhang, Wenyue & Fang, Xingming & Gao, Xiang & Xu, Meilian, 2019. "Urban public transport and air quality: Empirical study of China cities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    42. Eren Aydin & Kathleen Kürschner Rauck, 2023. "Public Transport Subsidization and Air Pollution: Evidence from the 9-Euro-Ticket in Germany," Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper Series 23-109, Swiss Finance Institute.
    43. Davis, Lucas W., 2021. "Estimating the price elasticity of demand for subways: Evidence from Mexico," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    44. repec:bla:scandj:v:103:y:2001:i:4:p:645-71 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Davis, Lucas W., 2021. "Estimating the price elasticity of demand for subways: Evidence from Mexico," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    2. Mario Liebensteiner & Jakob Losert & Sarah Necker & Florian Neumeier & Jörg Paetzold & Sebastian Wichert, 2024. "Almost Fare Free: Impact of a Cheap Public Transport Ticket on Mobility Patterns and Infrastructure Quality," CESifo Working Paper Series 11229, CESifo.
    3. Losert, Jakob & Paetzold, Jörg & Liebensteiner, Mario & Necker, Sarah & Neumeier, Florian & Wichert, Sebastian, 2024. "Almost Fare Free: Impact of a Public-Transport Climate Ticket on Mobility and Infrastructure Quality," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302337, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Niklas Gohl & Philipp Schrauth, 2022. "Ticket to Paradise? The Effect of a Public Transport Subsidy on Air Quality," CEPA Discussion Papers 50, Center for Economic Policy Analysis.
    5. Cropper, Maureen & Suri, Palak, 2024. "Measuring the air pollution benefits of public transport projects," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    6. Nicholas Rivers & Soodeh Saberian & Brandon Schaufele, 2020. "Public transit and air pollution: Evidence from Canadian transit strikes," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(2), pages 496-525, May.
    7. Gohl, Niklas & Schrauth, Philipp, 2024. "JUE insight: Ticket to paradise? The effect of a public transport subsidy on air quality," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    8. Borck, Rainald & Mulder, Peter, 2024. "Energy policies and pollution in two developing country cities: A quantitative model," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    9. Lee, Wang-Sheng & Tran, Trang My & Yu, Lamont Bo, 2023. "Green infrastructure and air pollution: Evidence from highways connecting two megacities in China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    10. Martin W Adler & Federica Liberini & Antonio Russo & Jos N. van Ommeren, 2021. "The congestion relief benefit of public transit: evidence from Rome," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 21(3), pages 397-431.
    11. Shihe Fu & V. Brian Viard, 2022. "A mayors perspective on tackling air pollution," Chapters, in: Charles K.Y. Leung (ed.), Handbook of Real Estate and Macroeconomics, chapter 16, pages 413-437, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Stefan Bauernschuster & Timo Hener & Helmut Rainer, 2017. "When Labor Disputes Bring Cities to a Standstill: The Impact of Public Transit Strikes on Traffic, Accidents, Air Pollution, and Health," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 1-37, February.
    13. Brent, Daniel & Beland, Louis-Philippe, 2020. "Traffic congestion, transportation policies, and the performance of first responders," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    14. Fageda, Xavier & Flores-Fillol, Ricardo & Theilen, Bernd, 2022. "Price versus quantity measures to deal with pollution and congestion in urban areas: A political economy approach," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    15. repec:hal:journl:hal-03403442 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Alexander Luttmann & Cody Nehiba, 2020. "The Effects of Employee Hours‐of‐Service Regulations on the U.S. Airline Industry," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(4), pages 1043-1075, September.
    17. Hongyou Lu & Yunchan Zhu & Yu Qi & Jinliang Yu, 2018. "Do Urban Subway Openings Reduce PM 2.5 Concentrations? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-24, November.
    18. Webster, Grant, 2024. "Free fare for better air? Evaluating the impacts of free fare public transit on air pollution," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    19. Ying Wang & Jing Tao & Rong Wang & Chuanmin Mi, 2020. "Can the New Subway Line Openings Mitigate PM10 Concentration? Evidence from Chinese Cities Based on the PSM-DID Method," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-19, June.
    20. Stephen R. Barnes & Louis‐Philippe Beland & Jason Huh & Dongwoo Kim, 2022. "COVID‐19 lockdown and traffic accidents: Lessons from the pandemic," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(2), pages 349-368, April.
    21. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Trinh, Trong-Anh, 2021. "Does the COVID-19 lockdown improve global air quality? New cross-national evidence on its unintended consequences," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public transportation; Air quality; Externalities; Pollutants; Modal shift;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L92 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Railroads and Other Surface Transportation
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecotra:v:40:y:2024:i:c:s221201222400039x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecotra .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.