IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/juipol/v95y2025ics0957178725000736.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Nationwide diffusion of China's Transit Metropolis Pilot Program

Author

Listed:
  • Ding, Pengxiang
  • Feng, Suwei
  • Pojani, Dorina

Abstract

China's Transit Metropolis Pilot (TMP) program is the world's most extensive initiative of its kind. Launched by the national government in 2010, the program has expanded to 117 mainland cities. This study employs a six-pronged policy diffusion framework to investigate the rapid adoption of the TMP nationwide. We analyze data from 280 larger cities between 2010 and 2017 using discrete event history analysis. Our findings indicate that the TMP program has been adopted primarily by cities with large populations, where there is high demand for public transport services and sufficient road space to support the expansion of public transport. The diffusion of the TMP program has been facilitated by contributions from every level of government, including the Ministry of Transport and provincial and prefectural authorities. Horizontal forces, such as intra-provincial competition, have played a role, too. Despite its success, the TMP program's diffusion has faced several local-level constraints, such as inadequate public transport infrastructure, lack of comprehensive Public Transport Development Plans, and weak fiscal capacity. Additionally, cities with a lower administrative status have been less successful in applying for or being selected as TMP cities. Over time, local governments' motivations for adopting the TMP program have evolved, reflecting changing priorities and conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Ding, Pengxiang & Feng, Suwei & Pojani, Dorina, 2025. "Nationwide diffusion of China's Transit Metropolis Pilot Program," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juipol:v:95:y:2025:i:c:s0957178725000736
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2025.101958
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957178725000736
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jup.2025.101958?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shaoda Wang & David Y. Yang, 2021. "Policy Experimentation in China: the Political Economy of Policy Learning," NBER Working Papers 29402, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Sun, Hao & Su, Jun & Ma, Liang, 2021. "The diffusion of the utility tunnel policy: Evidence from Chinese cities," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. Lindau, Luis Antonio & Hidalgo, Dario & de Almeida Lobo, Adriana, 2014. "Barriers to planning and implementing Bus Rapid Transit systems," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 9-15.
    4. Li, Hongbin & Zhou, Li-An, 2005. "Political turnover and economic performance: the incentive role of personnel control in China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(9-10), pages 1743-1762, September.
    5. Veeneman, Wijnand & Mulley, Corinne, 2018. "Multi-level governance in public transport: Governmental layering and its influence on public transport service solutions," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 430-437.
    6. David Benson & Andrew Jordan, 2011. "What Have We Learned from Policy Transfer Research? Dolowitz and Marsh Revisited," Political Studies Review, Political Studies Association, vol. 9(3), pages 366-378, September.
    7. Deng, Haopeng & Li, Ye & Li, Wenxiang & Yu, Yuewu, 2016. "Urban transport social needs in China: Quantification with central government transit grant," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 126-139.
    8. Mu, Rui & de Jong, Martin, 2016. "A network governance approach to transit-oriented development: Integrating urban transport and land use policies in Urumqi, China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 55-63.
    9. 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.
    10. Manuel P. Teodoro, 2009. "Bureaucratic Job Mobility and The Diffusion of Innovations," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(1), pages 175-189, January.
    11. Pettersson, Fredrik & Sørensen, Claus Hedegaard, 2020. "Why do cities invest in bus priority measures? Policy, polity, and politics in Stockholm and Copenhagen," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 178-185.
    12. Dorina Pojani & Dominic Stead, 2019. "When West–East planning policy advice fails to gain traction," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 62(8), pages 1402-1419, July.
    13. Parkes, Stephen & Mardsen, Greg & Shaheen, Susan PhD & Cohen, Adam, 2013. "Understanding the Diffusion of Public Bikesharing Systems: Evidence from Europe and North America," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt3qr9h2pr, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    14. Berry, Frances Stokes & Berry, William D., 1990. "State Lottery Adoptions as Policy Innovations: An Event History Analysis," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 84(2), pages 395-415, June.
    15. Wu, Irene & Pojani, Dorina, 2016. "Obstacles to the creation of successful bus rapid transit systems: The case of Bangkok," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 44-53.
    16. Zimm, Caroline, 2021. "Improving the understanding of electric vehicle technology and policy diffusion across countries," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 54-66.
    17. Muñoz, Juan Carlos & Gschwender, Antonio, 2008. "Transantiago: A tale of two cities," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 45-53, January.
    18. Parkes, Stephen D. & Marsden, Greg & Shaheen, Susan A. & Cohen, Adam P., 2013. "Understanding the diffusion of public bikesharing systems: evidence from Europe and North America," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 94-103.
    19. Zhou, Jiangping, 2016. "The transit metropolis of Chinese characteristics? Literature review, interviews, surveys and case studies," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 115-125.
    20. Majone, Giandomenico, 1991. "Cross-National Sources of Regulatory Policymaking in Europe and the United States," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 79-106, January.
    21. Mark Evans, 2009. "Policy transfer in critical perspective," Policy Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 243-268.
    22. Diane Stone, 2012. "Transfer and translation of policy," Policy Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(6), pages 483-499.
    23. Feng Han & Rui Xie & Mingyong Lai, 2018. "Traffic density, congestion externalities, and urbanization in China," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 400-421, October.
    24. Rui Mu & Martin De Jong, 2018. "A Tale of Two Chinese Transit Metropolises and the Implementation of Their Policies: Shenyang and Dalian (Liaoning Province, China)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, February.
    25. David Marsh & J.C. Sharman, 2009. "Policy diffusion and policy transfer," Policy Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 269-288.
    26. Li, Jinpei & Huang, Yixuan & Zhang, Chunqin & Yao, Di, 2025. "How does public transport development contribute to carbon emission reduction?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    27. Dorina Pojani & Dominic Stead, 2015. "Going Dutch? The export of sustainable land-use and transport planning concepts from the Netherlands," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(9), pages 1558-1576, July.
    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. Xiaohan Li & Yang Lv & Md Nazirul Islam Sarker & Xun Zeng, 2022. "Assessment of Critical Diffusion Factors of Public–Private Partnership and Social Policy: Evidence from Mainland Prefecture-Level Cities in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-15, February.
    2. Youlang Zhang & Hongshan Yang, 2023. "Bureaucratic politics, innovation compatibility, and the dynamic diffusion of subnational decentralization reforms in China," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 40(4), pages 553-572, July.
    3. Zhang, Kaiwen & Tan, Rong, 2024. "Land policy making in a complex system: The innovation and diffusion logic of China's retained land policy reform," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    4. Yingchao Ji & Jie Yin, 2022. "Diffusion Characteristics and Driving Factors of the Smart Tourism City Policy—Event History Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-15, May.
    5. Yuanyuan Huang & Lizhen Wei & Guiwen Liu & Wenjing Cui & Fangyun Xie & Xun Deng, 2022. "“Inspiring” Policy Transfer: Analysis of Urban Renewal in Four First-Tier Chinese Cities," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-31, December.
    6. Arbolino, Roberta & Boffardi, Raffaele & Bonasia, Mariangela & Capasso, Salvatore & De Simone, Luisa, 2025. "Imitation or learning: Exploring the drivers of Special economic zones," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 456-466.
    7. Bidordinova, Asya, 2021. "Emerging cycling policy in Moscow, Russia: The role of international policy transfer," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    8. Wuliyasu Bai & Long Zhang & Liang Yan & Xinyi Wang & Zhiqiao Zhou, 2023. "Crop Straw Resource Utilization as Pilot Policy in China: An Event History Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-19, February.
    9. Radzimski, Adam & Dzięcielski, Michał, 2021. "Exploring the relationship between bike-sharing and public transport in Poznań, Poland," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 189-202.
    10. Synek, Stefan & Koenigstorfer, Joerg, 2018. "Exploring adoption determinants of tax-subsidized company-leasing bicycles from the perspective of German employers and employees," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 238-260.
    11. Chuantao Cui & Leona Shao-Zhi Li, 2024. "More but not better: Career incentives of local leaders and entrepreneurial entry in China," Working Papers 202417, University of Macau, Faculty of Business Administration.
    12. Abdi, Mohammad Hamed, 2021. "What the newcomers to transit-oriented development are confronted with? Evidence from Iranian policy and planning," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    13. Tang, Lianzhou & Xu, Wenli, 2025. "Patronage and pollution," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    14. Gao, Ming & Gu, Qiankun & He, Shijun, 2022. "Place-based policies, administrative hierarchy, and city growth: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    15. Arias, Juan F. & Bachmann, Chris, 2022. "Quantifying the relative importance of rapid transit implementation barriers: Evidence from ecuador," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    16. Ma, Xinwei & Ji, Yanjie & Yuan, Yufei & Van Oort, Niels & Jin, Yuchuan & Hoogendoorn, Serge, 2020. "A comparison in travel patterns and determinants of user demand between docked and dockless bike-sharing systems using multi-sourced data," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 148-173.
    17. Elżbieta Szymańska & Eugenia Panfiluk & Halina Kiryluk, 2021. "Innovative Solutions for the Development of Sustainable Transport and Improvement of the Tourist Accessibility of Peripheral Areas: The Case of the Białowieża Forest Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-23, February.
    18. Caulfield, Brian & O'Mahony, Margaret & Brazil, William & Weldon, Peter, 2017. "Examining usage patterns of a bike-sharing scheme in a medium sized city," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 152-161.
    19. Saberi, Meead & Ghamami, Mehrnaz & Gu, Yi & Shojaei, Mohammad Hossein (Sam) & Fishman, Elliot, 2018. "Understanding the impacts of a public transit disruption on bicycle sharing mobility patterns: A case of Tube strike in London," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 154-166.
    20. Jinyi Zhou & Changyuan Jing & Xiangjun Hong & Tian Wu, 2019. "Winter Sabotage: The Three-Way Interactive Effect of Gender, Age, and Season on Public Bikesharing Usage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-14, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy
    • R52 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Land Use and Other Regulations

    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:juipol:v:95:y:2025:i:c:s0957178725000736. 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: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/utilities-policy .

    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.