Evaluating the impact of partial driving restrictions on local air quality in Chongqing using regression discontinuity design

Abstract

Driving restriction is used to mitigate traffic congestion and improve air quality. A partial bridge restriction policy is created in Chongqing, China since the bridges are natural network bottlenecks due to the local river system. Is such a strategy really capable of reducing air pollution and further improving local air quality? Employing an integration of principal component analysis and a regression-discontinuity design approach, this study examines the short-run effect of the partial driving restrictions on the local air quality index in Chongqing, China. The examination is first conducted to the city level, and then its eight administrative districts are tested separately. The findings reveal that the air quality index of the whole city area has experienced deterioration after the introduction of restrictions in Chongqing. Among eight districts, Yuzhong is the only one experiencing an improvement of air quality index.

Review of Urban Access Regulations from the Sustainability Viewpoint

“…However, the improvement in air quality in only one district exacerbated the deterioration of air quality in seven other districts, which was a typical spillover effect. Since drivers are unfamiliar with the detour roads and increased itineraries, the private traffic was not diminished but was redistributed in the spatiotemporal dimension [49]. In the port city of Izmir in Turkey, despite implementing urban access control for trucks, the queues caused by peak terminal operations continued to generate high emissions [50].…”