The effect of public transportation fare subsidies on mobility and socioeconomic outcomes

Last registered on March 08, 2023
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The effect of public transportation fare subsidies on mobility and socioeconomic outcomes
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011001
Initial registration date
February 24, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
March 08, 2023, 11:43 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Seth Chizeck
Affiliation
Carnegie Mellon University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Oluchi Mbonu
PI Affiliation
Harvard University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-11-17
End date
2025-12-31
Keywords
Labor
Additional Keywords
Public transportation, Mobility
JEL code(s)
R48
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Public transportation fares are often unaffordable for low-income riders. We conduct an experiment that provides public transportation fare subsidies to 9,574 working-age residents of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Study participants were randomly assigned to receive either a 0%, 50%, or 100% discount on all Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) bus and light rail trips for 12 months. Study outcomes will include public transportation use, transportation mode substitution, earnings and labor supply, health care utilization, self-reported measures of well-being, and spatial mobility as measured by cell phone GPS data.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Chizeck, Seth and Oluchi Mbonu. 2023. "The effect of public transportation fare subsidies on mobility and socioeconomic outcomes." AEA RCT Registry. March 08. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11001-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The experiment has three arms with equal allocation probabilities, randomized at the individual level:

1. The control group, which does not receive any discount on Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) trips
2. The half-off treatment group, which receives a 50% discount on all PRT trips for 12 months
3. The free treatment group, which receives a 100% discount on all PRT trips for 12 months.

Participants are assigned a PRT farecard, called a ConnectCard, that is pre-programmed with the appropriate fare discount level. The ConnectCards for participants in the 0% and 50% subsidy groups contain $10 of preloaded fare value to encourage use of the card. Once this initial $10 balance runs out, participants in the 0% and 50% subsidy groups must load their own fare product onto the card in order to continue using it.

The 50% group ConnectCards automatically apply a 50% discount to any stored cash or timed pass that is loaded onto the card, with the exception of an annual pass. For context, a single PRT ride normally costs $2.75. The 50% subsidy group pays only $1.35 per ride. A 31-day unlimited ride pass normally costs $97.50, and costs $48.75 for the 50% subsidy group. The ConnectCards for the 100% subsidy treatment arm are programmed to allow unlimited free-fare taps on all PRT vehicles. Participants with these free-fare cards do not need to load any cash or timed pass onto the card.
Intervention (Hidden)
The experiment has three arms with equal allocation probabilities, randomized at the individual level:

1. The control group, which does not receive any discount on Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) trips
2. The half-off treatment group, which receives a 50% discount on all PRT trips for 12 months
3. The free treatment group, which receives a 100% discount on all PRT trips for 12 months.

Participants are assigned a PRT farecard, called a ConnectCard, that is pre-programmed with the appropriate fare discount level. The ConnectCards for participants in the 0% and 50% subsidy groups contain $10 of preloaded fare value to encourage use of the card. Once this initial $10 balance runs out, participants in the 0% and 50% subsidy groups must load their own fare product onto the card in order to continue using it.

The 50% group ConnectCards automatically apply a 50% discount to any stored cash or timed pass that is loaded onto the card, with the exception of an annual pass. For context, a single PRT ride normally costs $2.75. The 50% subsidy group pays only $1.35 per ride. A 31-day unlimited ride pass normally costs $97.50, and costs $48.75 for the 50% subsidy group. The ConnectCards for the 100% subsidy treatment arm are programmed to allow unlimited free-fare taps on all PRT vehicles. Participants with these free-fare cards do not need to load any cash or timed pass onto the card.
Intervention Start Date
2022-11-17
Intervention End Date
2024-02-12

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We will estimate treatment effects on the following primary outcome measures:
• Quarterly earnings: We will use Pennsylvania Unemployment Insurance records to measure participants’ total earnings in the third calendar quarter after the calendar quarter in which they were randomly assigned. This corresponds to the participant’s earnings at roughly eight to twelve months after their date of random assignment, depending on where their random assignment date fell in a calendar quarter.
• Primary health care visits: We will measure participants’ total number of primary care visits taken in the first nine months after random assignment. We will measure this outcome using a combination of Medicaid claims and private health insurance claims.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment has three arms with equal allocation probabilities, randomized at the individual level:

1. The control group, which does not receive any discount on PRT trips
2. The half-off treatment group, which receives a 50% discount on all PRT trips for 12 months
3. The free treatment group, which receives a 100% discount on all PRT trips for 12 months.
Experimental Design Details
The experiment has three arms with equal allocation probabilities, randomized at the individual level:

1. The control group, which does not receive any discount on PRT trips
2. The half-off treatment group, which receives a 50% discount on all PRT trips for 12 months
3. The free treatment group, which receives a 100% discount on all PRT trips for 12 months.
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
9,574 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
9,574 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
3,158 individuals in control group, 3,251 individuals in 50% subsidy group, and 3,165 individuals in 100% subsidy group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Carnegie Mellon University
IRB Approval Date
2022-11-17
IRB Approval Number
STUDY2022_00000322
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre_analysis_plan.pdf

MD5: 01fc154afcde94309ca3aee9790d835c

SHA1: 220d4345b4d127ea17e94968bd4d44da2be40ef3

Uploaded At: February 24, 2023

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials