Can public transportation reduce accidents? Evidence from the introduction of late-night buses in Israeli cities

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12 Scopus citations

Abstract

The notion that public transportation can mitigate accidents has been widely claimed, but to-date empirical evidence that supports this relationship in a causal manner is scarce. This paper presents results from difference-in-differences (DID) and triple differences (DDD) frameworks that exploit the introduction of late-night buses (night buses) into cities in Israel beginning in 2007. The preferred DDD specification utilizes spatial, temporal, and time-of-day variation in estimating the effect of night bus frequencies on accident outcomes. The results show a reduction in accidents involving young drivers in response to night buses, on the order of 37% in the mean metropolitan area served by night buses. Injuries resulting from these accidents also decrease by 24%. Results are robust to alternative DDD estimations, which utilize variation in the day of the week that night buses operate. Overall, the results suggest that public transportation - and in particular late-night public transportation - can entail substantial benefits in terms of road accident reductions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)99-117
Number of pages19
JournalRegional Science and Urban Economics
Volume74
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2019

Keywords

  • Drunk driving
  • Public transportation
  • Risky behavior
  • Road accidents

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Urban Studies

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