Abstract
This article investigates the effect of a decrease in the speed limit for motor vehicles on bicycle commuting in French cities. I use a difference-in-differences event study design to measure a possible causal effect of motor vehicle speed limits on changes in bicycle traffic. I do not find any effect of the reduction of the speed limit from 50 km/h to 30 km/h on bicycle commuting. This result is important for public policy design, since increasing the number of bicycles is one of the benefits that politicians expect from decreasing the speed limit for motor vehicles.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to Étienne Dagorn, Sebastian Kraus, Christopher Leichtnam, Marion Leturcq, Blane D. Lewis, Chloé Ramet, Paul Reeve, Ben Thies and Yann Venance, for their valuable advice. I also thank the editor, Hendrik Schmitz, and two anonymous referees for helpful comments.
References
Baker, A. C., D. F. Larcker, and C. C. Y. Wang. 2022. “How Much Should We Trust Staggered Difference-in-Differences Estimates?” Journal of Financial Economics 144 (2): 370–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2022.01.004.Search in Google Scholar
Borusyak, K., X. Jaravel, and J. Spiess. 2021. “Revisiting Event Study Designs: Robust and Efficient Estimation.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2108.12419.Search in Google Scholar
Callaway, B., and P. H. Sant’Anna. 2021. “Difference-in-Differences with Multiple Time Periods.” Journal of Econometrics 225 (2): 200–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2020.12.001.Search in Google Scholar
de Chaisemartin, C., and X. D’Haultfœuille. 2020. “Two-Way Fixed Effects Estimators with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects.” The American Economic Review 110 (9): 2964–96. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20181169.Search in Google Scholar
Goodman-Bacon, A. 2021. “Difference-in-Differences with Variation in Treatment Timing.” Journal of Econometrics 225 (2): 254–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2021.03.014.Search in Google Scholar
Götschi, T., J. Garrard, and B. Giles-Corti. 2016. “Cycling as a Part of Daily Life: A Review of Health Perspectives.” Transport Reviews 36 (1): 45–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2015.1057877.Search in Google Scholar
Hamilton, T. L., and C. J. Wichman. 2018. “Bicycle Infrastructure and Traffic Congestion: Evidence from DC’s Capital Bikeshare.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 87: 72–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2017.03.007.Search in Google Scholar
Isaksson-Hellman, I., and J. Töreki. 2019. “The Effect of Speed Limit Reductions in Urban Areas on Cyclists’ Injuries in Collisions with Cars.” Traffic Injury Prevention 20 (sup3): 39–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2019.1680836.Search in Google Scholar
Kraus, S., and N. Koch. 2021. “Provisional COVID-19 Infrastructure Induces Large, Rapid Increases in Cycling.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118 (15): 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2024399118.Search in Google Scholar
Mertens, L., D. Van Dyck, A. Ghekiere, I. De Bourdeaudhuij, B. Deforche, N. Van de Weghe, and J. Van Cauwenberg. 2016. “Which Environmental Factors Most Strongly Influence a Street’s Appeal for Bicycle Transport Among Adults? A Conjoint Study Using Manipulated Photographs.” International Journal of Health Geographics 15 (1): 31. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12942-016-0058-4.Search in Google Scholar
Nankervis, M. 1999. “The Effect of Weather and Climate on Bicycle Commuting.” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 33 (6): 417–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0965-8564(98)00022-6.Search in Google Scholar
Pucher, J., and R. Buehler. 2008. “Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.” Transport Reviews 28 (4): 495–528. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441640701806612.Search in Google Scholar
Pucher, J., and R. Buehler. 2017. “Cycling Towards a More Sustainable Transport Future.” Transport Reviews 37 (6): 689–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2017.1340234.Search in Google Scholar
Silvano, A. P., and K. L. Bang. 2016. “Impact of Speed Limits and Road Characteristics on Free-Flow Speed in Urban Areas.” Journal of Transportation Engineering 142 (2): 04015039. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)te.1943-5436.0000800.Search in Google Scholar
Sun, L., and S. Abraham. 2021. “Estimating Dynamic Treatment Effects in Event Studies with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects.” Journal of Econometrics 225 (2): 175–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2020.09.006.Search in Google Scholar
Tang, J., A. McNabola, and B. Misstear. 2020. “The Potential Impacts of Different Traffic Management Strategies on Air Pollution and Public Health for a More Sustainable City: A Modelling Case Study from Dublin, Ireland.” Sustainable Cities and Society 60: 102229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102229.Search in Google Scholar
Winters, M., and K. Teschke. 2010. “Route Preferences Among Adults in the Near Market for Bicycling: Findings of the Cycling in Cities Study.” American Journal of Health Promotion 25 (1): 40–7. https://doi.org/10.4278/ajhp.081006-quan-236.Search in Google Scholar
© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
