Free rides to cleaner air?
From Transport Knowledge Wiki
 Journal article record
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| Title
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Free rides to cleaner air? Examining the impact of massive public transport fare discounts on air quality
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| Journal
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 Economics of Transportation
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| Abstract
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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.
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| Authors
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 Daniel Albalate Mattia Borsati Albert Gragera
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| Date
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 December 2024
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| Keywords and locations
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| Keywords
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 Public transport Revenue Air pollution
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| Locations
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 Spain
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| How to find and cite this journal article
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| Publication
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 10.1016/j.ecotra.2024.100380
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| Access
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This journal article is open access and can be read for free as of 20 February 2025.
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| Citation
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Albalate, D., Borsati, M., & Gragera, A. (2024). Free rides to cleaner air? Examining the impact of massive public transport fare discounts on air quality. Economics of Transportation, 40, 100380.
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