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The congestion relief benefit of public transit: evidence from Rome

Author

Listed:
  • Martin W Adler
  • Federica Liberini
  • Antonio Russo
  • Jos N. van Ommeren

Abstract

We estimate the effect of public transport supply on travel times of motor-vehicle and bus users in Rome, Italy. We apply a quasi-experimental methodology exploiting hourly information on public transport service reductions during strikes. We find that a 10-percentage point reduction in public transit supply increases the travel time of motor-vehicles by about 1.6% in the morning peak. The effect on bus travel time is similar. The congestion-relief benefit of public transport is thus sizeable and bus travel time gains account for an important share of it.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jecgeo:v:21:y:2021:i:3:p:397-431.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jeg/lbaa037
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    Cited by:

    1. González, Felipe & Silva, Hugo E., 2025. "JUE insight: Efficiency of bus priority infrastructure," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    2. Antonio Russo & Martin W. Adler & Federica Liberini & Jos N. van Ommeren, 2019. "Welfare Losses of Road Congestion," CESifo Working Paper Series 7693, CESifo.
    3. Zhang, Guozheng & Wang, Dianhai & Cai, Zhengyi & Zeng, Jiaqi, 2024. "Competitiveness of public transit considering travel time reliability: A case study for commuter trips in Hangzhou, China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    4. Bergantino, Angela Stefania & Gardelli, Alessandro, 2024. "The contribution of e-scooters services to urban transport resilience," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    5. Hans R A Koster, 2024. "The Welfare Effects of Greenbelt Policy: Evidence from England," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(657), pages 363-401.
    6. Ramos, Raúl & Silva, Hugo E., 2023. "Fare evasion in public transport: How does it affect the optimal design and pricing?," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    7. Matthias Beestermöller & Levke Jessen-Thiesen & Alexander Sandkamp, 2025. "Striking evidence: the impact of railway strikes on competition from intercity bus services in Germany," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 25(6), pages 853-872.
    8. Dong Liu & Feng Xiao & Jian Luo & Fan Yang, 2023. "Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Holding Control for Bus Bunching under Stochastic Travel Time and Demand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-18, July.
    9. Hörcher, Daniel & De Borger, Bruno & Seifu, Woubit & Graham, Daniel J., 2020. "Public transport provision under agglomeration economies," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    10. Tomasiello, Diego Bogado & Nadalin, Vanessa Gapriotti & Pereira, Rafael H. M., 2025. "Rethinking Congestion as Lost Access," OSF Preprints fjdbs_v1, Center for Open Science.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • H76 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Other Expenditure Categories

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