Public transit capacity and users' transport choice: an experiment about Downs-Thomson paradox (original) (raw)

We study the Downs-Thomson paradox, a situation where an additional road capacity can cause an overall increase in transport generalized cost and therefore a decrease in welfare for transport users. To University of Rennes 1 and CREM-CNRS, 7 place Hoche, 35065 Rennes cedex, France. yWe thank Rachel Croson, Michael Pickhardt, Aurelie Bonein and participants of International ESA Meetings at Caltech, Pasadena, June 2008, and European ESA Meeting in Lyon, september 2008, for useful remarks. Thanks to Elven Priour for programming and organizing the experimental sessions.