Performance Evaluation of Fee-Charging Policies to Reduce the Carbon Emissions of Urban Transportation in China

As a market-based instrument for transportation demand management, a transport fee-charging policy can not only effectively reduce traffic congestion, but also improve air quality. Considering the urgent need to improve urban transport fee-charging policies and reduce transport carbon emissions, the paper focuses on the role of the performance of fee-charging policies in reducing the carbon emissions of urban transport. In this study, we propose a methodological framework for the performance evaluation of urban traffic carbon emission fee-charging policies. First, we analyze the current situation of the implementation of fee-charging policies and their relationship with urban traffic congestion. Subsequently, we analyze changing trends of carbon emissions associated with transportation travel in Beijing in recent years, to identify the main sources of carbon emissions from transport. Finally, we used the DEA method to evaluate the performance of the fee policies for urban transport, which are meant to reduce carbon emissions, analyze their implementation efficiency, and then discuss the main factors affecting their efficiency. The results show that with the implementation of fee-charging policies, urban traffic congestion has eased. The overall carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from transportation in Beijing grew rapidly. CO2 emissions generated by car travel are the main source of carbon emissions from transportation in Beijing. The average value of the overall technical efficiency (TE) of Beijing’s fee-charging policies to reduce transportation carbon emissions from 2006 to 2018 is 0.962, indicating that the overall implementation of Beijing’s fee-charging policies has been effective. Adjustments to the fee structure reduce motor vehicle travel to an extent, increase the proportion of green travel, and reduce the intensity of transportation carbon emissions. The technical non-efficiency in Beijing’s fee-charging policy is mainly due to non-efficiency of scale, followed by pure technical non-efficiency. Appropriately adjusting the fee structures imposed by different policies would help to improve the efficiency of policy implementation.