Subways and Road Congestion

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gu, Yizhen; Jiang, Chang; Zhang, Junfu; Zou, Ben
• 署名单位: Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School (PKU Shenzhen); Peking University; Baidu; Clark University; Michigan State University
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20190024
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 83-115
• 关键词: regression discontinuity designs; driving restrictions; fundamental law; public-transit; urban

摘要

We study whether subways alleviate road congestion by examining 45 subway line launches in China and by using detailed data on road speed. Our difference-in-differences estimation finds that in the first year after a subway line is launched, rush hour speed on nearby roads increases by about 4 percent. The effect is most prominent in initially congested roads and declines over distance to the new subway line. Evidence on road speed is corroborated with substitution patterns among modes of transportation. Using auxiliary data from Beijing, we calculate that the time savings for each automobile or bus commute from faster speed is worth US$0.10.