RG-T3854 : Support to the Public Policy Laboratory in the Transport Sector

Urban public transport systems play a fundamental role in cities articulating economic and social interactions, as they connect people with the opportunities provided in a territory such as jobs, health, and education. Extensive literature highlights the relevance of complementarity and substitution within urban transport modes, and how transport supply and demand determine travel costs and times. However, there is still little evidence on the impacts of the operation of urban transport in economic and social dimensions that transcend time and cost gains to focus quality and accessibility of transport services in Latin American cities. These impacts can be derived from different interventions, such as: fare integration, targeted subsidies, security programs and citizen culture in the use of public transport systems, dynamic management of transport demand, on demand services, adjustments in the infrastructure based on universal accessibility principles, among others. In this scenario, generating rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of urban transport interventions is essential for prioritizing investments in the sector under an evidence-based policymaking approach. Rigorous evidence can contribute to improve existent transport interventions, scale the interventions that are working and fulfilling the expected outcomes, while also can contribute to redirect funds away from consistently ineffective interventions. Given this context, the initiative of the Public Policy Laboratory in the Transport Sector (The Laboratory) aims (i) to encourage evidence-based policymaking in the transport sector through the promotion of the analysis and generation of rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of transport interventions for competitiveness and social welfare; and (ii) to generate knowledge and provide information on specific transport interventions in multiple countries to support the design and implementation of transport policies that consider the heterogeneities of the region. The Lab will initially focus on two cities, Bogota, and San Salvador, providing data and analysis in two contexts that can be applicable to different cities of the region.