Commuters’ mode choice as a coordination problem: A framed field experiment on traffic policy in Hyderabad, India

All major Indian cities face a severe transport crisis, with the number of cars on the road increasing every day. Policy makers are trying to keep pace with this growth by supplying more roads, largely neglecting demand-side policy measures. The authors have developed an economic experiment to investigate behavioral responses of citizens to such measures. Drawing on a sample of 204 white-collar commuters from Hyderabad, India, the authors model mode choice as a coordination problem and analyze how bus subsidies, increased parking costs, and public information on preferential car use can affect mode choice. The authors find that pecuniary treatments are effective for shifting behavior towards socially more desirable outcomes and increasing total benefits. Mode choice is relatively unaffected by socio-economic variables like gender, education or income but is significantly affected by actual traffic behavior. The authors discuss limitations of the applied sampling, conclude with a critical evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of economic experiments in transportation research, and offer an outlook on how further experimentation could enrich the policy debate.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2014.03.014
• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856414000792
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/09658564
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Chidambaram, Bhuvanachithra
  • Janssen, Marco A
  • Rommel, Jens
  • Zikos, Dimitrios
• Publication Date: 2014-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 9-22
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice
  • Volume: 65
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0965-8564
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09658564

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Commuters; Economic factors; Field studies; Mode choice; Policy; Public transit; Subsidies; Travel behavior
• Geographic Terms: Hyderabad (India)
• Subject Areas: Economics; Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Policy; Public Transportation; I10: Economics and Administration; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01530818
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 24 2014 2:37PM