The Optimal Mix of Pricing and Infrastructure Expansions to Alleviate Traffic Congestion and in-bus crowding in grand Casablanca
Like in many large cities in developing countries, traffic in Grand Casablanca, Morocco, is congested and public buses are crowded. These conditions are alleviated by a combination of supply-side infrastructure expansions, such as more buses and ne...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/452941530220363954/The-optimal-mix-of-pricing-and-infrastructure-expansions-to-alleviate-traffic-congestion-and-in-bus-crowding-in-grand-Casablanca http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29974 |
| Summary: | Like in many large cities in developing
countries, traffic in Grand Casablanca, Morocco, is
congested and public buses are crowded. These conditions are
alleviated by a combination of supply-side infrastructure
expansions, such as more buses and new road capacity, and
demand-side pricing instruments, such as parking and fuel
taxes. Using an empirical urban transportation mode choice
model for Casablanca, this study finds a mix of these
expansion policies and pricing instruments to alleviate
congestion and maximize aggregate social welfare. The
optimal mix is sensitive to the marginal costs of the
infrastructure expansions. If the city were to spread out in
its periphery where land constraints do not exist and land
is available at lower prices, a supply-side instrument,
particularly the optimal expansion of roads, would be far
more effective in achieving welfare gains than the use of
optimal pricing instruments without new roads. By contrast,
if the city were to densify in already built-up areas, land
and other physical constraints and the high price of land
may leave expensive “elevated roads” as the only option. In
this case, demand-side instruments together with the
elevated roads would equally contribute to reduce traffic
congestion and in-bus crowding. |
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