Lucas Davis - UC Berkeley
The Eff ect of Weekend Driving Restrictions on Air Quality
Date: 11/19/2015 (Thu)
Time: 3:15pm- 4:45pm
Location: Seminar will be held on-site: Building 09/CR 137, RTI International
Organizer: Steven Sexton
Meeting Schedule: (Not currently open for scheduling. Please contact the seminar organizer listed above.)
All meetings will be held in the same location as the seminar unless otherwise noted.
3:15pm - Seminar Presentation (3:15pm to 4:45pm)
Additional Comments: Policymakers around the world are turning to driving restrictions in an e ffort to address urban air pollution. The exact format diff ers across cities, but most programs restrict vehicles from driving once or twice a week during weekdays, with no restrictions on weekends. This paper examines Mexico City's driving restrictions which were expanded to include Saturdays in 2008. The expansion marks a signifi cant change for a program which during the previous twenty years had always applied to weekdays only. Overall, there is little evidence that the program expansion has improved air quality on Saturdays. The two most important pollutants from a health perspective are airborne particulates and ozone, and neither pollutant decreases when the program is expanded. There is suggestive evidence of a modest decrease for some other pollutants on Saturday afternoons, but no change on Saturday mornings or for daily maximum pollution levels. There is also no evidence that the expansion of the program increased subway, bus, or light rail ridership, despite optimism that drivers would substitute to public transportation. These results add to a growing body of evidence that suggests drivers will find ways to circumvent vehicle rationing programs.