The Rise and Fall of Nudges in Public Transit in Urban Spaces

One of the characteristics of differentiating cities from towns and villages is a developed network of roads and effective public transit. Urban planners employ their expertise to create designs well-suited to the needs of the concerned citizens. Yet, factors of economics and psychology play an influential role in how the utilization of these public goods takes place, particularly in the long-run.

Modern economic theory suggests rational behavior among people. One of the ways to qualify this would be by minimizing time and costs and maximizing comfort while commuting. Considering the population to be well-off, cars and two-wheelers is an affordable option for the majority. While this is assumed, even data shows a similar feature among urban-dwellers. 

To put all this in context, I’ll take the case of the city of Delhi, the national capital of India, from where I belong. A typical Delhiite, as we infamously call ourselves, owns at least a car or a bike. Our public transportation includes the Delhi Metro and Delhi Transport Corporation’s bus services. On the other hand, app-based cab services like Uber, offering air-conditioning and Wi-Fi-connectivity, is another popular alternative among working youth. 

Delhi’s roads are synonymous with heavy traffic congestion persistent throughout the capital city. Generally, metros and buses are used by students and working officials on weekdays and tourists on weekends. However, they lack the last mile connectivity, which makes app-based services much more attractive. Their network is immensely growing, making them available on the click of a button. It speaks of promptness and convenience for those who are able and willing to afford it.

Besides, some feel content to drive to work and back home in their vehicles. This section is the primary and growing cause of hours of traffic. Adding to this mania are the perpetual constructions taking place in various parts of the city, causing diversions and roadblocks. Then are the poor traffic regulation and clogged roads due to heavy rains. 

To subdue these choices and provide a better way of directing traffic off the roads, the Delhi Metro got introduced. It acted as a nudge in commuting decisions. A Nudge, as Richard Thaler explains it, is any aspect of the choice architecture that predictably alters people’s behavior without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives. For it to be a nudge, the intervention must be easy and cheap to avoid. Nudges are not mandates. Putting the fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. Banning junk food does not. (Thaler and Sunstein, 2008)

The added option of traveling in a metro, the nudge, seemed much faster and cheaper than being stranded for long hours in traffic. The connectivity increased as years passed by with new lines and new stations mapped across the National Capital Region. Although it reduced the traffic congestion on the roads, the nudge was not sustainable. Over time, metros became crowded; the roadways did too. 

It was with the evolution of behavioral economics we learned individuals tend to exercise irrational decisions when presented with different options, policies, or nudges. In this case, it was sooner or later realized that an added means of transports, such as metros, implied less traffic on roads and thus, more space for more cars. 

This phenomenon, as seen in Delhi, occurs due to loss aversion, a concept suggesting that losses loom larger than gains. It is the inherent human tendency to prevent any costs while acquiring benefits of equivalent significance. The metro rides cost time and comfort to many, directing them to use cab services or privately-owned vehicles. 

All in all, it resulted in congestion on roads and pollution in the air. But, to combat rising pollution rates, the Delhi government imposed an Odd-Even policy on the lines of the approach taken in Beijing to the same problem. A 15-day restriction on running cars with an odd registration number on even days and vice versa got implemented in phases, starting from 1st to 15th January 2015. It did lead to a slight decline in traffic but did not reduce the pollution levels. In some regions, there was a rise in PM 10, while Delhi faced its usual winter in smog. 

Alternatively, the Singapore government was able to project Mass Rapid Transit and buses as the most used transportation. It is because the public transport system provides extensive connectivity and cheaper commute. The tedious procedures to buy a car and a driving certificate are quite expensive. The cost of purchasing a vehicle has increased four-fold, necessitating the use of public transport. 

Being a developing country, India derives Western preferences of owning a car as a symbol of higher social standing. The nudges intervene with this ideology. Thus, there is a need to promote such intervention with well-researched information, altering the preferences of commuting for the long-run. Imposing stricter regulations on the purchase of a second automobile and incentivizing citizens towards electric vehicles can act as efficient interventions.