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Understanding attitudes towards congestion pricing: a latent variable investigation with data from four cities

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Abstract

Numerous cities around the world are considering the implementation of road pricing to ease urban traffic congestion, following on from the success in cities such as London and Singapore. However, policy makers are also all too aware of the generally negative public opinion towards such measures. This study makes use of data collected in four cities (two in Sweden, one in Finland and one in France) using a very consistent survey probing for citizens’ attitudes towards pricing. We find very strong similarities across the four cities in terms of a number of underlying attitudinal constructs that help explain people’s answers in a hypothetical referendum on congestion pricing. The similarities across cities indicate that the increase in the opinion towards congestion pricing once they are introduced is not primarily an effect of changes in underlying attitudes, changes in how the underlying attitudes influence the support for congestion pricing, or differences in anticipated versus experienced or perceived self-interest. Instead this effect seems to be caused by a status quo acceptance, tending to increase the support for the current situation.

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  • Hess, Stephane & Börjesson, Maria, 2016. "Understanding attitudes towards congestion pricing: a latent variable investigation with data from four cities," Working papers in Transport Economics 2016:24, CTS - Centre for Transport Studies Stockholm (KTH and VTI).
  • Handle: RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2016_024
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    1. Börjesson, Maria & Eliasson, Jonas & Hamilton, Carl, 2016. "Why experience changes attitudes to congestion pricing: The case of Gothenburg," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1-16.
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    4. Alex Anas & Robin Lindsey, 2011. "Reducing Urban Road Transportation Externalities: Road Pricing in Theory and in Practice," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 5(1), pages 66-88, Winter.
    5. Schade, J. & Baum, M., 2007. "Reactance or acceptance? Reactions towards the introduction of road pricing," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 41-48, January.
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    7. Stéphanie Souche-Lecorvec & Charles Raux & J. Eliasson & C. Hamilton & K. Brundell-Freij & K. Kiiskilä & J. Tervonen, 2016. "Predicting the results of a referendum on urban road pricing in France: “the cry of Cassandra”?," Post-Print halshs-01347595, HAL.
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    Cited by:

    1. Börjesson, Maria & Asplund, Disa & Hamilton, Carl, 2021. "Optimal kilometre tax for electric passenger cars," Working Papers 2021:3, Swedish National Road & Transport Research Institute (VTI).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Congestion charging; Pricing acceptability; Road user attitudes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R42 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government and Private Investment Analysis; Road Maintenance; Transportation Planning
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy

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