When Labor Disputes Bring Cities to a Standstill: The Impact of Public Transit Strikes on Traffic, Accidents, Air Pollution, and Health

Bauernschuster, Stefan; Hener, Timo; Rainer, Helmut

doi:10.1257/pol.20150414

Cited by 70 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Surveying 13 public transportation labor strikes in the United States and Europe, van Excel and Rietveld () show that large numbers of trips are canceled during strikes, including trips to work and doctor's appointments; automobile traffic becomes congested with significant increases in commute times; and there are subsequent long‐term decreases in the use of public transportation. Other studies of transit strikes have documented a decrease in overall welfare due to increased traffic, pollution, and vehicle accidents (Anderson ; Bauernschuster, Hener, and Rainer ; Lo and Hall ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In addition to the mechanisms described above, transit strikes impose significant externalities on the affected areas. The most obvious are an increase in traffic congestion and commuting delays leading to decreases in overall welfare (Anderson ; Bauernschuster, Hener, and Rainer ; Lo and Hall ). However, labor strikes in general can be very disruptive to the industry in which the strike occurs.…”

Section: Potential Mechanisms and Social Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Related to these concerns, Bauernschuster, Hener, and Rainer () find that transportation strikes increase the number of vehicle accidents, accident‐related injuries, and respiratory hospital admissions among youth. Surveying 13 public transportation labor strikes in the United States and Europe, van Excel and Rietveld () show that large numbers of doctor's appointments are canceled during strikes.…”

Section: Potential Mechanisms and Social Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Urban Transport and Crime: Evidence From Unanticipated Mass Transit Strikes

et al. 2019

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We examine the effects of mass transit strikes on criminal behavior in Los Angeles County utilizing a unique dataset of reported crimes between 2000 and 2007. Geocoded location and time information pertaining to each offense accommodates a fine grained difference‐in‐differences panel data analysis. We find that in locations affected by the strike, aggravated assaults rose by 18.7% while aggregate property crimes increased by 5.7%, relative to their mean. This increase in crime was disproportionately larger in lower income neighborhoods, which report higher usage of mass transit, suggesting local isolation of both criminals and victims as a mechanism. (JEL J52, K42, K31)

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Potential Mechanisms and Social Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Potential Mechanisms and Social Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Urban Transport and Crime: Evidence From Unanticipated Mass Transit Strikes

et al. 2019

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“…One idea that strikes are interpreted as exogenous shocks. Bauernschuster, Hener, and Rainer (2017) quantified the effects of public transit strikes on urban populations in Germany and discover that the total car hours of operation increased by 11%-13% during the strikes since there was a higher traffic volume and longer travel times. Basagaña et al (2017) estimated the change in air pollution concentrations during public transport strikes in the city of Barcelona (Spain).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Basagaña et al (2017) estimated the change in air pollution concentrations during public transport strikes in the city of Barcelona (Spain). Bauernschuster, Hener, and Rainer (2017) quantified the effects of public transit strikes on urban populations in Germany and discover that the total car hours of operation increased by 11%-13% during the strikes since there was a higher traffic volume and longer travel times. The other one treats the opening of rail transit as exogenous shocks.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can urban rail transit systems alleviate air pollution? Empirical evidence from Beijing

Guo

Chen

2018

Growth and Change

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Improving air quality across mainland China is an urgent policy challenge, while rapidly increasing use of vehicles poses a great menace to the urban population and air quality. Public transportation has received increasing attention as emissions‐ friendly transport options, but whether the urban rail transit system has a significant effect on curbing air pollution has been unclear, and there is a lack of explicit case studies in mainland China. Therefore, the effects of the opening of the Beijing Metro on air pollutants emissions in Beijing were quantified through a regression discontinuity design. Beijing has seen a brisk growth in its rail transit infrastructure and a downward trend of air pollution index since 2005. The regression results show that the operation of the rail transit system was observed to have a significant effect on reducing most of the air pollutants concentrations (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO) but had little effect on ozone pollution. The results obtained were highly robust across a variety of tests. This study contributes to empirical evidence on the air pollutants associated with the opening of rail transit and traffic‐related pollution control policy making in Beijing.

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Air pollution, viral spread and health outcomes evidence from strikes in France

Godzinski,

Suarez Castillo

2024

Health Economics

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To evidence the impact of air pollution on the health of urban populations, several studies use natural experiments that shift commuting from public transport to cars (or vice‐versa). However, as public transport use declines, reduced interpersonal contact may lead to slower virus spread and thus lower respiratory morbidity. Using a difference‐in‐differences strategy, we show that respiratory hospitalisations are both positively affected by air pollution and negatively affected by viral spread following partial unavailability of public transport due to strikes in the ten most populated French cities during the period 2010–2015. Our results are in line with studies in other countries that have found a significant increase in urgent respiratory hospitalisations following a public transport strike, most likely due to car pollution, but we also find a detectable interaction with viral spread, which should not be overlooked when interpreting these studies.

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When Labor Disputes Bring Cities to a Standstill: The Impact of Public Transit Strikes on Traffic, Accidents, Air Pollution, and Health

Cited by 70 publications

References 47 publications

Urban Transport and Crime: Evidence From Unanticipated Mass Transit Strikes

Urban Transport and Crime: Evidence From Unanticipated Mass Transit Strikes

Can urban rail transit systems alleviate air pollution? Empirical evidence from Beijing

Air pollution, viral spread and health outcomes evidence from strikes in France

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