Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

One For The Road: Public Transportation, Alcohol Consumption, And Intoxicated Driving, Clement (Kirabo) Jackson, Emily G. Owens

C. Kirabo Jackson

We exploit arguably exogenous train schedule changes in Washington DC to investigate the relationship between public transportation provision, the risky decision to consume alcohol, and the criminal decision to engage in alcohol–impaired driving. Using a triple differences strategy, we provide evidence that both DUI arrests and alcohol related fatal traffic accidents fell, while alcohol related arrests increased, as a result of the expanded hours of Metro operation. However, we find that these effects may be due, in part, to individuals shifting their drinking to evenings when the Metro offered late night service from other evenings. Furthermore, we provide strong evidence …