A stated-preference study of the willingness-to-pay to reduce traffic risk in urban vs. rural roads

Purpose The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of the road environment (urban vs. rural) in the willingness-to-pay to reduce traffic risk. Methods The process is based on state-of-the-art econometric models (ordered probit and random effects ordered probit models), using data from a stated preference survey, with separate scenarios for urban and rural roads. The theoretical constructs of "willingness to pay to reduce a fatality" (WTPF) and "value of (statistical) life" (VOSL) are used. Results The WTPF for the rural area is found 3.6 times higher than for the urban environment. This finding is consistent with the literature and can be interpreted as a higher perception of traffic risk associated with rural trips over urban trips. When the WTPF is weighted by the traffic volume, this difference is reduced to 1.85 times higher VoSL for rural over urban trips. Conclusions The estimated values of statistical life seem somewhat high compared to other estimates around the world. However, they are consistent with similar studies in Greece. The VOT for the two cases is similar and has a reasonable magnitude, suggesting that the WTPF/VOSL differences are not due to a major discrepancy in valuation of rural vs. urban trips.