Research Briefs·Apr 3, 2024

Optimal Urban Transportation Policy: Evidence from Chicago

In Chicago, welfare would be increased by charging almost nothing for public transit, increasing the frequency of trains, and lowering the frequency of buses. Road pricing reduces environmental externalities, but only benefits travelers if the revenues are used for transit subsidies and rebates.
Milena Almagro, Felipe Barbieri, Juan Camilo Castillo, Nathaniel Hickok, and Tobias Salz
Based on BFI Working Paper No. 2024-22, “Optimal Urban Transportation Policy: Evidence from Chicago”

INTERACTIVE FIGURE

View PDF View Working Paper
Related People
Related Research
Related Insights

More on this topic

Podcasts episode·Aug 19, 2025

Building Costs vs. Housing Prices: Why Construction Isn’t Driving the Crisis

Tess Vigeland and Chad Syverson
Historically, one major reason has consistently been cited for the growth in housing costs in this country: the rising cost of building homes. But that relationship is changing. In this episode, University of Chicago economist Chad Syverson breaks down 75...
Topics: Industrial Organization
Podcasts episode·Oct 1, 2024

What Can the North Dakota Railroad War of 1905 Tell Us About Regulating Modern Monopolies?

Tess Vigeland and Chad Syverson
When the Soo Line threatened to expand into the Great Northern Railway’s territory in 1905, the two companies entered a fierce competition for marketshare in which the they rapidly constructed nearly 500 miles of rail tracks and over 50 new...
Topics: Industrial Organization
Podcasts episode·Apr 30, 2024

Fighting Traffic in Chicago: Lower Fares, More Trains, Fewer Buses

Tess Vigeland and Milena Almagro
American cities are overreliant on cars. Policies for reducing this gridlock and pollution range from changing public transit fares or frequencies to introducing new tolls. In this episode of The Pie, Milena Almagro, Assistant Professor of Economics at Chicago Booth,...
Topics: Industrial Organization