Public intention to pay for road safety improvement: A case study of Pakistan

Abstract

The dramatic increase in road traffic accidents poses social and economic challenges to nations, especially for developing countries. Thus, road safety urgently needs to be significantly improved at the national level to reduce the number of road traffic accidents and costs associated with it. Understanding road users’ acceptance of road pricing regarding road safety improvement is crucial for safety-related investment programs. As such, this paper investigated the factors associated with public intention-to-pay (ITP) for road safety improvement in Pakistan. A structural equation model (SEM) was adopted to analyze the determinants of ITP according to the theory of planned behavior (TPB) combined with latent psychological variables that describe the personal characteristics and evaluations of different measures. Furthermore, the moderating effects of socioeconomic characteristics were also examined. A sample of 340 car drivers, interviewed at different locations of Peshawar, Pakistan, was used to test the model. Results of the SEM model indicated that Road Infrastructure Safety Perception and Perceived Behavioral Control have strong association with the ITP of car users’ for road safety improvement. Risk Perception, Attitude towards Traffic Safety Responsibility, Attitude, Perceived Fairness, and Perceived Effectiveness were also associated with ITP. Differential age and gender-related moderating effects were also observed. Findings from this study are expected to assist the decision-makers in the effective planning and implementation of road safety projects and related budget allocations.