Peak-avoidance Experiment

Last registered on November 15, 2022

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Peak-avoidance Experiment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0006857
Initial registration date
July 12, 2021

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
July 13, 2021, 9:35 AM EDT

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

Last updated
November 15, 2022, 4:50 PM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Beijing Jiaotong University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Beijing Jiaotong University
PI Affiliation
Beijing Jiaotong University
PI Affiliation
Beijing Jiaotong University

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2021-03-31
End date
2021-10-17
Secondary IDs
National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Joint Programming Initiative Urban Europe, National Natural Science Foundation of China
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Traffic congestion is a difficult problem faced by urban management all over the world. This experiment investigates how to encourage commuters to drive cars in non-peak hours. We organize a randomized field experiment to explore the effectiveness of different treatments: tradable permits, congestion charges, and health information. We define the time window of 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. as the big peak hours. and before 6:30 a.m. or after 8:30 a.m. as the small peak hours. Under the tradable permits, drivers' app accounts will be deducted for some tickets if they depart during peak hours. Under congestion charges, drivers' app accounts will be deducted some money if they depart during peak hours. The drivers in health information group will receive reminder messages every week. In the last group, drivers will be influenced by health information and congestion charges.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Geng, Kexin et al. 2022. "Peak-avoidance Experiment." AEA RCT Registry. November 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.6857-1.1
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Tradable permits: Drivers need to pay some permit tickets for morning driving during peak hours.
Congestion charges: Drivers need to pay some money from initially allocated money for morning driving during peak hours.
Health information: Drivers receive health information every week to tell how improper commuting modes affect individual health.
Intervention Start Date
2021-06-14
Intervention End Date
2021-07-16

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Whether subjects drive.
Whether subjects depart before 6:30 a.m..
Whether subjects depart between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m..
Whether subjects depart between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m..
Whether subjects depart between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m..
Whether subjects depart after 8:30 a.m..
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The driver i will experience Ti days (=0,1,…) in the experimental period. Each day t the driver will decide when to drive or not drive in the morning. Generate six main observed variables: whether to drive (Xit=1 or 0), whether to start driving before 6:30 a,m. (Xit=1 or 0), whether to start driving between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., (Xit=1 or 0), whether to start driving between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., (Xit=1 or 0), whether to start driving during 8:00 a.m. and 8:030 a.m., (Xit=1 or 0), and whether to start driving after 8:30 a.m., (Xit=1 or 0). Per driver with Ti >0 , we compute the average value (x_i ) ̅= 1/T_i ∑_(t=1)^(T_i)▒x_it.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
None
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
None

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
During the treatment period, drivers will be incentivized by tradable permits, congestion charges, or health information
Experimental Design Details
Drivers are assigned to the tradable permits group, congestion charge group, health information group, interaction group, or control. The drivers in the tradable permits group will receive some permits each week and need to consume them when driving during peak hours. The drivers of the congestion charge group received a sum of money in the app before the treatment and need to pay a part if they start driving during peak hours. After the treatment ended, they can get all payments. The drivers of the health information group received messages conveying the adverse effect of a long time driving on the body and psychological health. The drivers of the interaction group will meet the two treatments meanwhile.
Randomization Method
Stratified randomization by Excel
Randomization Unit
Individuals
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1 company
Sample size: planned number of observations
500 drivers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
100 subjects control, 100 subjects assigned to reward group, 100 subjects assigned to permit group, 100 subjects assigned to information group, 100 subjects both the reward and information treatment.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Specify the unit: times standard deviation: 20% percentage: 30% behavioral shift Minimum effect size: 70 of each experimental group, a total of 420 subjects are needed
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
SBE Research Ethical Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2020-10-21
IRB Approval Number
SBE10/21/2020dbs214

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