Abstract
Reducing car use in cities without taxing motorists. This is the main goal of tradable mobility permits (TMPs) that allow to strengthen the trajectory of sustainability in urban mobility. TMPs are non-monetary units allocated to all the users for travel within a space-time-mode area constrained by the public authorities. In this area, a common quantitative objective, such as a number of vehicle-kilometres or tons of pollutant emissions, must not be exceeded in order to reduce the negative externalities caused by the mobility of individuals and goods (e.g. congestion, air pollution, road accident and noise).Individuals can either use their allocated TMPs or sell them on a market controlled by the public authorities. In the latter case, they need to adapt their travel choices according to the number of TMPs they have left. Other individuals, who wish to travel within the same area beyond their initial TMP allocation, will be able to buy these permits on the market.TMPs combine restrictions on collectively harmful travels and financial incentives to adopt more environment-friendly mobility choices. The polluter pays principle is also enhanced as the revenue of the TMPs is distributed among TMPs sellers who contribute to the environmental effort. As emissions trading, TMPs allow to bypass the limits of tolls and resource tax which have caused citizen revolts.The first chapter of this thesis reviews the available literature on TMPs. This literature has focused on the issue of TMP allocation, the definition of essential structures and the functioning of the TMP market. Contrary to the emissions trading markets, the TMP market can lead to mutually profitable exchanges given the large number of economic agents that the population represents. We also discuss the role of new technologies in the TMP system and the need for immaterial TMPs. In the last part of this chapter, an economic model is developed to study the effects of TMPs on the modal choice. This theoretical analysis highlights the importance of the initial allocation of TMPs as a condition for modal shift.The second chapter of this thesis deals with a gamification of the TMPs, included in a survey conducted among inhabitants of the Montpellier urban area. Empirically, we show that TMPs encourage sustainable travel choices in proportions comparable to those of urban tolls. Moreover, for individuals who wish to travel beyond their initial TMP allocation, the equilibrium market price of TMPs is lower than the amount of most existing urban tolls. The trips of individuals who voluntarily step aside from the market are heavily impacted. The same is true for individuals who have an insufficient willingness to pay for TMPs. Two discriminant factor analyses allow us to investigate the individual criteria that favour this voluntary withdrawal or exclusion from the market. Compensatory measures are proposed where inequity exists.The third chapter of this thesis is devoted to measure the social acceptability of the TMPs if they were to be implemented in the city of Montpellier. Our econometric results are in line with the available literature. We find that the acceptability of TMPs is better than that of urban tolls. Furthermore, the acceptability of TMPs is mainly influenced by individuals’ beliefs about the impact of TMPs on the future of urban mobility.Finally, our conclusion sheds light on the public authorities’ viewpoint with the help of thirty recommendations guiding the implementation of a TMP system for policy-makers.