IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transa/v170y2023ics0965856423000381.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Analysing a license plate-based vehicle restriction policy with optional exemption charge: The case in Cali, Colombia

Author

Listed:
  • Soto, Jose J.
  • Macea, Luis F.
  • Cantillo, Victor

Abstract

Several cities have restricted the use of private vehicles based on the last digit of a vehicle's license plate to reduce traffic congestion and pollution. However, the effectiveness of this measure has been questioned. In 2017, a hybrid scheme, License Plate Restriction Charging (LPRC), was implemented in Cali, Colombia. With this scheme, drivers can pay a charge (monthly, quarterly, or yearly) to circumvent the restriction, while the revenue is used to subsidise the BRT System. Cali was the first city in Latin America to implement such a scheme, while Colombia's capital, Bogota, adopted a similar policy in 2020. This article analyses the evolution of the measure using official information. In addition, we conducted a stated preferences survey and estimated a choice model to evaluate the behaviour of car owners to policy variables. Results show that LPRC price is the most relevant attribute in decision-making. Increasing the number of days with traffic restrictions and extending the hours of vehicle use restriction increases drivers' probability of paying for the LPRC. As currently implemented in Cali, the LPRC is a fixed cost that does not vary according to the car use level, encouraging users who pay for the exemption to use their car as much as possible to make the most out of the payment. Furthermore, the revenue from the charge contributes only marginally to financing the BRT. Finally, we propose several changes in the policy to improve its efficiency. Among them, consider a daily payment and hardening the current driving restriction.

Suggested Citation

  • Soto, Jose J. & Macea, Luis F. & Cantillo, Victor, 2023. "Analysing a license plate-based vehicle restriction policy with optional exemption charge: The case in Cali, Colombia," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:170:y:2023:i:c:s0965856423000381
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2023.103618
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856423000381
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tra.2023.103618?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Ning & Tang, Linhao & Pan, Huizhong, 2017. "Effectiveness of policy incentives on electric vehicle acceptance in China: A discrete choice analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 210-218.
    2. Nano Barahona & Francisco A Gallego & Juan-Pablo Montero, 2020. "Vintage-Specific Driving Restrictions," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(4), pages 1646-1682.
    3. Lucas W. Davis, 2008. "The Effect of Driving Restrictions on Air Quality in Mexico City," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(1), pages 38-81, February.
    4. Liu, Zhiyong & Li, Ruimin & Wang, Xiaokun(Cara) & Shang, Pan, 2018. "Effects of vehicle restriction policies: Analysis using license plate recognition data in Langfang, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 89-103.
    5. Börjesson, Maria & Eliasson, Jonas & Hugosson, Muriel & Brundell-Freij, Karin, 2012. "The Stockholm congestion charges – five years on. Effects, acceptability and lessons learnt," Working papers in Transport Economics 2012:3, CTS - Centre for Transport Studies Stockholm (KTH and VTI).
    6. Gallego, Francisco & Montero, Juan-Pablo & Salas, Christian, 2013. "The effect of transport policies on car use: A bundling model with applications," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(S1), pages 85-97.
    7. Ortúzar, Juan de Dios & Bascuñán, Raúl & Rizzi, Luis Ignacio & Salata, Andrés, 2021. "Assessing the potential acceptability of road pricing in Santiago," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 153-169.
    8. Hua Ma & Guizhen He, 2016. "Effects of the Post-Olympics Driving Restrictions on Air Quality in Beijing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-15, September.
    9. Amos Tversky & Daniel Kahneman, 1991. "Loss Aversion in Riskless Choice: A Reference-Dependent Model," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(4), pages 1039-1061.
    10. Fageda, Xavier & Flores-Fillol, Ricardo & Theilen, Bernd, 2022. "Price versus quantity measures to deal with pollution and congestion in urban areas: A political economy approach," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    11. Bernardo, Valeria & Fageda, Xavier & Flores-Fillol, Ricardo, 2021. "Pollution and congestion in urban areas: The effects of low emission zones," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 26.
    12. De Borger, Bruno & Proost, Stef, 2015. "The political economy of public transport pricing and supply decisions," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 95-109.
    13. Carlos F. Daganzo & Reinaldo C. Garcia, 2000. "A Pareto Improving Strategy for the Time-Dependent Morning Commute Problem," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(3), pages 303-311, August.
    14. Rizzi, Luis Ignacio & De La Maza, Cristobal, 2017. "The external costs of private versus public road transport in the Metropolitan Area of Santiago, Chile," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 123-140.
    15. Verhoef, Erik T., 2002. "Second-best congestion pricing in general networks. Heuristic algorithms for finding second-best optimal toll levels and toll points," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 707-729, September.
    16. de Grange, Louis & Troncoso, Rodrigo, 2011. "Impacts of vehicle restrictions on urban transport flows: The case of Santiago, Chile," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 862-869, November.
    17. Gallego, Francisco & Montero, Juan-Pablo & Salas, Christian, 2013. "The effect of transport policies on car use: Evidence from Latin American cities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 47-62.
    18. Train,Kenneth E., 2009. "Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521747387, January.
    19. Börjesson, Maria & Eliasson, Jonas & Hugosson, Muriel B. & Brundell-Freij, Karin, 2012. "The Stockholm congestion charges—5 years on. Effects, acceptability and lessons learnt," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 1-12.
    20. Wang, Lanlan & Xu, Jintao & Qin, Ping, 2014. "Will a driving restriction policy reduce car trips?—The case study of Beijing, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 279-290.
    21. Lin, Shichao & Zhu, Songwei & Li, Xiangmin & Li, Ruimin, 2022. "Effects of strict vehicle restrictions on various travel modes: A case study of Zhengzhou, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 310-323.
    22. Basso, Leonardo J. & Montero, Juan-Pablo & Sepúlveda, Felipe, 2021. "A practical approach for curbing congestion and air pollution: Driving restrictions with toll and vintage exemptions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 330-352.
    23. Viard, V. Brian & Fu, Shihe, 2015. "The effect of Beijing's driving restrictions on pollution and economic activity," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 98-115.
    24. Daganzo, Carlos F., 1995. "A pareto optimum congestion reduction scheme," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 139-154, April.
    25. Gu, Yizhen & Deakin, Elizabeth & Long, Ying, 2017. "The effects of driving restrictions on travel behavior evidence from Beijing," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 106-122.
    26. Jorge A Bonilla, 2019. "The More Stringent, the Better? Rationing Car Use in Bogotá with Moderate and Drastic Restrictions," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 33(2), pages 516-534.
    27. Tianwei Lu & Enjian Yao & Fanglei Jin & Long Pan, 2020. "Alternative Incentive Policies against Purchase Subsidy Decrease for Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) Adoption," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, April.
    28. Eliasson, Jonas & Jonsson, Lina, 2011. "The unexpected "yes": Explanatory factors behind the positive attitudes to congestion charges in Stockholm," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 636-647, August.
    29. Koster, Paul & Verhoef, Erik & Shepherd, Simon & Watling, David, 2018. "Preference heterogeneity and congestion pricing: The two route case revisited," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 117(PA), pages 137-157.
    30. Hess, Stephane & Train, Kenneth E. & Polak, John W., 2006. "On the use of a Modified Latin Hypercube Sampling (MLHS) method in the estimation of a Mixed Logit Model for vehicle choice," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 147-163, February.
    31. Diao, Qinghua & Sun, Wei & Yuan, Xinmei & Li, Lili & Zheng, Zhi, 2016. "Life-cycle private-cost-based competitiveness analysis of electric vehicles in China considering the intangible cost of traffic policies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 567-578.
    32. Ye, Jingjing, 2017. "Better safe than sorry? Evidence from Lanzhou's driving restriction policy," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-21.
    33. Ramos, Raúl & Cantillo, Víctor & Arellana, Julián & Sarmiento, Iván, 2017. "From restricting the use of cars by license plate numbers to congestion charging: Analysis for Medellin, Colombia," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 119-130.
    34. Blackman, Allen & Qin, Ping & Yang, Jun, 2020. "How costly are driving restrictions? Contingent valuation evidence from Beijing," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Ling & Yang, Linchuan, 2023. "Effects of driving restrictions on air quality and housing prices: Evidence from Chengdu, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Ling & Yang, Linchuan, 2023. "Effects of driving restrictions on air quality and housing prices: Evidence from Chengdu, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    2. Fageda, Xavier & Flores-Fillol, Ricardo & Theilen, Bernd, 2022. "Price versus quantity measures to deal with pollution and congestion in urban areas: A political economy approach," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. Basso, Leonardo J. & Montero, Juan-Pablo & Sepúlveda, Felipe, 2021. "A practical approach for curbing congestion and air pollution: Driving restrictions with toll and vintage exemptions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 330-352.
    4. Yuan Liang & Quan Yuan & Daoge Wang & Yong Feng & Pengfei Xu & Jiangping Zhou, 2022. "Panacea or Placebo? Exploring Causal Effects of Nonlocal Vehicle Driving Restriction Policies on Traffic Congestion Using Difference-in-differences Approach," Papers 2208.11577, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2023.
    5. Salgado, Edgar & Mitnik, Oscar A., 2021. "Spatial and Time Spillovers of Driving Restrictions: Causal Evidence from Lima's Pico Y Placa Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 14932, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Lin, Shichao & Zhu, Songwei & Li, Xiangmin & Li, Ruimin, 2022. "Effects of strict vehicle restrictions on various travel modes: A case study of Zhengzhou, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 310-323.
    7. Liu, Zhiyong & Li, Ruimin & Wang, Xiaokun (Cara) & Shang, Pan, 2020. "Noncompliance behavior against vehicle restriction policy: A case study of Langfang, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 1020-1033.
    8. Shihe Fu & V. Brian Viard, 2022. "A mayors perspective on tackling air pollution," Chapters, in: Charles K.Y. Leung (ed.), Handbook of Real Estate and Macroeconomics, chapter 16, pages 413-437, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Rivera, Nathaly M., 2021. "Air quality warnings and temporary driving bans: Evidence from air pollution, car trips, and mass-transit ridership in Santiago," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    10. Li, Wenbo, 2023. "The effect of China's driving restrictions on air pollution: The role of a policy announcement without a stated expiration," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Blackman, Allen & Qin, Ping & Yang, Jun, 2020. "How costly are driving restrictions? Contingent valuation evidence from Beijing," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    12. Zhang, Wenjia & Liu, Chengcheng & Zhang, Hongmou, 2023. "Public acceptance of congestion pricing policies in Beijing: The roles of neighborhood built environment and air pollution perception," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 106-120.
    13. Yuan Liang & Quan Yuan & Daoge Wang & Yong Feng & Pengfei Xu & Jiangping Zhou, 2024. "Panacea or placebo? Exploring the causal effects of nonlocal vehicle driving restriction policies on traffic congestion using a difference-in-differences approach," Transportation, Springer, vol. 51(6), pages 2253-2275, December.
    14. Gibson, Matthew & Carnovale, Maria, 2015. "The effects of road pricing on driver behavior and air pollution," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 62-73.
    15. Rhiannon Jerch & Panle Jia Barwick & Shanjun Li & Jing Wu, 2020. "Road Rationing Policies and Housing Markets," DETU Working Papers 2004, Department of Economics, Temple University.
    16. Sarmiento, Luis & Wägner, Nicole & Zaklan, Aleksandar, 2023. "The air quality and well-being effects of low emission zones," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    17. repec:lpe:wpaper:201829 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Hu, Xu & Yang, Zhaojun & Sun, Jun & Zhang, Yali, 2021. "Exempting battery electric vehicles from traffic restrictions: Impacts on market and environment under Pigovian taxation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 53-91.
    19. Carrillo, Paul E. & Lopez-Luzuriaga, Andrea & Malik, Arun S., 2018. "Pollution or crime: The effect of driving restrictions on criminal activity," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 50-69.
    20. Ortúzar, Juan de Dios & Bascuñán, Raúl & Rizzi, Luis Ignacio & Salata, Andrés, 2021. "Assessing the potential acceptability of road pricing in Santiago," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 153-169.
    21. Zhang, Linling & Long, Ruyin & Chen, Hong, 2019. "Do car restriction policies effectively promote the development of public transport?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 100-110.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:170:y:2023:i:c:s0965856423000381. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/547/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.