Transportation

The Results of America's First Transit-Incentive Program

Paying people to avoid the morning rush sort of worked in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Robert Galbraith/Reuters

Last year the San Francisco Bay Area became the first laboratory in North America for a mass-transit incentives program, with BART offering rewards to commuters who shifted their morning commutes away from the peak rush.

The incentive model is based on the economic concept of nudging, explains BART, “wherein even a small reward can lead to adjustments in behavior.”