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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/184019
Do light rail systems reduce traffic externalities? Empirical evidence from mid-size European cities
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Abstract
This paper examines the impact of urban light rail systems on congestion, travel time and pollution. Drawing on data from mid-size European cities, I estimate the impact of supply changes for the entire sample and applied a differences-in-differences analysis to a sample of cities that did not have rail systems in the initial year of the considered period. I find evidence that an increase in the supply of rail transport leads to less congestion, less travel time and less pollution. Furthermore, cities with a new rail system have on average 7% less congestion, 1% less travel time and 3% less pollution than cities with no rail systems. The results suggest that light rail systems have been successful in containing the negative externalities associated with car traffic in mid-size European cities.
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FAGEDA, Xavier. Do light rail systems reduce traffic externalities? Empirical evidence from mid-size European cities. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment. 2021. Vol. 92, num. 102731. ISSN 1361-9209. [consulted: 7 of August of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/184019