Little is known about the causal impacts of public transit on local air pollution. Exploiting variation in transit availability resulting from transit strikes in 18 Canadian cities between 1974 and 2011, this study identifies the short‐run effect of public transit on air pollution. Overall, the results suggest that expanding the current configuration of public transit in North American cities is unlikely to yield improvements in local air quality.
Public transit and air pollution: Evidence from Canadian transit strikes
Original research by:
Nicholas Rivers, Soodeh Saberian, Brandon Schaufele
Published by: Canada Journal of Economics • 16.04.20