With the intensification of traffic congestion and environmental pollution, some authorities are implementing policies to control the amount of private vehicles, such as controlling vehicle ownerships and applying electronic road pricing. Limiting the amount of vehicle licenses released is the most effective way among all these policies. In this thesis, I study the vehicle license lottery policy in Beijing and vehicle license auction policy in Shanghai. Different from the existing literature which focuses on the effectiveness or public acceptance of these policies, this thesis examines at a game-theoretic perspective and the user behaviors under these two policies. Finally, the possible improvements are also provided to overcome the shortcomings of the current policies....[ Read more ]

With the intensification of traffic congestion and environmental pollution, some authorities are implementing policies to control the amount of private vehicles, such as controlling vehicle ownerships and applying electronic road pricing. Limiting the amount of vehicle licenses released is the most effective way among all these policies. In this thesis, I study the vehicle license lottery policy in Beijing and vehicle license auction policy in Shanghai. Different from the existing literature which focuses on the effectiveness or public acceptance of these policies, this thesis examines at a game-theoretic perspective and the user behaviors under these two policies. Finally, the possible improvements are also provided to overcome the shortcomings of the current policies.