Randomized experiment on subsidizing public transport for low to middle income populations in developing contexts.

Last registered on September 12, 2021
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Randomized experiment on subsidizing public transport for low to middle income populations in developing contexts.
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007995
Initial registration date
September 10, 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
September 12, 2021, 11:55 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Colombia
Region
Bogotá, D.C.

Primary Investigator

Name
Luis A. Guzman
Affiliation
Universidad de los Andes
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2021-01-01
End date
2021-12-20
Keywords
Governance, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Bogota, Public Transport, BRT, Fare Subsidy, Travel Patterns
JEL code(s)
O18, R41, D1, I3, H2
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The public transport system is responsible for a third of daily trips in Bogotá, on par with the other most common travel mode: non-motorized mobility. Traditionally, the system's fare policy aims to cover its operational costs. Nonetheless, targeted subsidies to low-income and elderly users and the city administration's decisions to halt planned fare increases have produced a financial deficit of approximately US $ 220.2 million in 2017. These decisions aim to improve the user's welfare since transportation costs account for a significant share of most people's income in Bogotá. Nonetheless, limited evidence exists on how this translates into mobility increases, overall reductions in transportation costs, or if any gains in income or other welfare aspects are produced. This study aims to provide better evidence in this regard by randomly selecting a group of 1,600 personalized-card users of the BRT system that do not already have a subsidy and subsidizing half of them with 30 to 40 trips for four months. During this period, their BRT system usage is recorded. Additional information on their transport use and welfare decisions is recorded using a baseline and an end-of-intervention survey.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Guzman, Luis A.. 2021. "Randomized experiment on subsidizing public transport for low to middle income populations in developing contexts. ." AEA RCT Registry. September 12. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7995-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2021-05-12
Intervention End Date
2021-09-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Number of Trips per Week per person, affordability (transportation expenditures/total expenditures).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
A random sample was chosen among frequent public transport users with a personalized travel card. Initially, eight hundred (800) users were chosen as treatment in two arms: four hundred (400) with a subsidy equivalent to 40 trips (COP$28,000), and another four hundred (400) with a subsidy equivalent to 30 trips (COP$21,000) per month, for three months. A control group of eight hundred (800) users, who were not offered a subsidy, was chosen as a control. A baseline survey was conducted at the enrollment visit. An exit survey was conducted at the end of the intervention. Weekly, every participant is asked about their use of time and expenses on transport, housing, food, health, and leisure activities. Data on travel card use are not accessible to the researchers until the end of the intervention.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Equal probability of Selections (using a desktop computer).
Randomization Unit
Individual users.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
0
Sample size: planned number of observations
1,600 users
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
800 (400 - High- + 400 -Low-) in the Treatment, and 800 in Control.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Comité de Ética de la Investigación, Universidad de los Andés (Bogotá, Colombia).
IRB Approval Date
2021-05-04
IRB Approval Number
Acta No 1359 de 2021
Analysis Plan

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