Introduction

In Latin America and the Caribbean, nine out of every ten people will live in urban areas by 2050, according to estimations by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018). Since the mid-1950s, millions of people have emigrated from the country to the city in search of better life opportunities. The volume and speed at which new residents have arrived has exceeded the ability of cities to accommodate this workforce and equip the new urban residents with basic services. In most large Latin American conurbations, the peripheries tend to be precariously connected with arterial roadways and insufficient transport services to cover the demand (Angel et al. 2012).

The purchase of private cars has been one of the answers to the mobility needs of families living in the large capitals. A study by Rivas et al. (2019) documents that the sustained growth in the motorization rates in Latin America (annual average of 4.7) is among the highest in the world, along with Asia and the Middle East (Rivas et al., 2019). The increase in the vehicle pool has caused congestion problems with serious consequences for both air quality and people’s well-being. Bogota, the capital of Colombia, is a paradigmatic case. It is estimated that, despite the mobility restrictions imposed by the Covid19 pandemic, the residents of this metropolis lost on average 126 h in 2020 because of vehicular traffic, with Bogota being among the most congested cities on the planet (TomTom, 2021). The situation in other large capitals like Mexico City, Lima, Buenos Aires, or Santiago de Chile is similar.

Gradually, over the last two decades, congestion-based policy instruments have been applied to reduce traffic congestion and improve urban air quality. Restriction of vehicle use based on the license plate number, fuel taxes, and urban tolls are frequent measures today in over-populated Latin American cities like Santiago, Bogota, Quito, or Mexico City. There is little evidence of public acceptance by the residents of the transportation and pollution reduction policies or of the intentions of reducing car use on this continent (for a rare countervailing viewpoint, see Wang et al., 2021).

The concept of public acceptance has been defined as the expression of support, agreement, or favorable reaction of the general public to a proposal or existing measure (Huijts et al., 2012; Upham, Oltra, and Boso 2015). Several studies have examined which factors influence public acceptance of urban traffic reduction measures. These factors can be classified as (a) attributes of the reduction measure (Steg and Schuitema 2007, Ejelöv and Nilsson, 2020); (b) familiarity (Jagers et al. 2017); (c) sociodemographic aspects (Allen et al. 2006; Eliasson and Jonsson 2011); (d) beliefs about the measure and its application (Eliasson and Jonsson 2011); (e) values, prior attitudes, and related beliefs (Jakovcevic and Steg 2013; Eliasson 2014; Hamilton et al. 2014); and (f) political identity or ideology (Yusuf et al., 2014).

Most previous studies have used quantitative methodologies, which have helped to standardize concepts and develop empirically contrastable explanations about measures that reduce car use. Nevertheless, despite the evidence generated over the last three decades, three major challenges are evident in the literature. First, the highly individualistic approach of quantitative attitudinal models tends to obscure the intrinsic social and contextual nature of urban mobility practices. And quantitative research struggles to identify the narrative structures that influence public acceptance of restrictions, including social influences or collective worldviews. The aim of the study is not only to record and analyze the participants’ statements or behaviors but also to contextualize the reported attitudes and actions socially and culturally.

Second, given the need for more research in the Global South, there is a tendency to use the urban experience of countries in the North as a model to follow. However, there is an open question. Can measures to reduce private car use be replicated with similar results in other contexts? For example, in the large Latin American capitals, residents face structural barriers that do not exist in Europe and that affect their daily mobility practices.

Third, the relationship between emotions and policy acceptability has received limited attention in the literature. Following Denzin (2009[1984]: 66), emotion can be defined as “a lived, believed-in, situated, temporally embodied experience that radiates through a person’s stream of consciousness, is felt in and runs through his body, and, in the process of being lived, plunges the person and his associates into a wholly new and transformed reality – the reality of a world that is being constituted by the emotional experience.” Recent studies suggest that emotions may play a critical role in shaping the acceptance of public policies (Ejelöv and Nilsson, 2020). Emotions have the potential to influence people’s attitudes and behaviors towards policy proposals, and can have both positive and negative effects on policy acceptability. For instance, positive emotions such as hope, optimism, and trust can enhance people’s willingness to support policies, whereas negative emotions such as fear, anger, and mistrust can decrease policy support.

Fourth, it is often difficult to generalize the results of case studies (Gu et al. 2018). Although there are some comparative studies (Mahendra, 2008; Sørensen et al. 2014, Hensher and Li 2013; Zheng et al. 2014; Hysing and Isaksson, 2015), they usually focus on the analysis of management strategies. Public acceptance is not a consistent phenomenon; it is sometimes elusive and usually does not work uniformly (Upham, Oltra, and Boso 2015). In this sense, understanding the acceptance of traffic restriction measures in culturally and geographically diverse contexts may be relevant for the design of effective interventions. Surprisingly, little previous research has used a comparative approach to explore the different contexts of vehicle use reduction.

The aim of this article is to understand the specific emotions and beliefs about vehicle restriction and air pollution control policies, essentially license plate–based restrictions, in Latin American cities. We analyzed data from semi-structured interviews and digital diaries with residents of Bogota, Mexico City, Quito, and Santiago de Chile. We focused the analysis on a set of emotions, beliefs, and perceptions identified in the literature as direct antecedents of acceptance. Our main objective is to understand how the local context determines the individual experience of restriction measures, how the specific emotions and beliefs about the characteristics and effects of these measures are developed, and, finally, what impact personal circumstances, context, beliefs, and emotions have on the ultimate acceptance or rejection of the vehicle restrictions.

Related Studies: What Do We Know Concerning the Social Acceptance of Vehicle Restriction Measures?

Most of the studies on public acceptance of pro-environmental political instruments in general, and of congestion rates or urban traffic reduction measures in particular, agree that individuals’ beliefs and perceptions about the attributes and impacts of these policies are the main antecedent factor of acceptance and public support (Jagers, Matti, and Nilsson, 2017; Ejelöv and Nilsson, 2020; Contzen et al., 2021; Morton et al., 2021). For example, if individuals perceive an environmental policy as unfair or ineffective, they tend to oppose its implementation. The most determinant beliefs are related to the effectiveness of the policy (e.g., the extent to which the policy can reduce air pollution in the city); its distributive effects, i.e., the extent to which the effects of the measure are perceived as fair; the impacts on individual freedom, i.e., the extent to which the policy is perceived as forcing individuals to change their behavior; and the expected personal costs (Jagers, Matti, and Nilsson, 2017). The specific beliefs about the policy have a direct impact on acceptance, which in turn is the result of the interaction between the characteristics and the design of the policy and the sociodemographic characteristics of the individuals, their values, and previous attitudes (Ejelöv and Nilsson, 2020).

The interaction between the characteristics of the policy (e.g., its coercive nature, its impacts) and the characteristics of the individuals may also generate specific beliefs, i.e., emotional responses to a policy. The presence of strong negative emotions towards an environmental policy, although less explored in the literature, is considered an important direct determinant of public opposition (Ejelöv and Nilsson, 2020; Contzen et al., 2021; Morton et al., 2021). Some policies, due to their expected effects on the freedom of choice or distributive justice, may evoke strong negative emotions while weakening positive emotions among the public. These emotions result from the interaction between the characteristics of the policy (but, also its implementation and the actors responsible for its implementation) and the previous orientations and characteristics of the individuals (values, attitudes, ideological positioning, sociodemographic characteristics). For example, studies such as Contzen et al. (2021) have shown that biospheric values can be associated with positive emotions when the policy has certain characteristics, like being voluntary rather than mandatory.

The context of policy implementation also plays a crucial, though sometimes forgotten, role in the research on public acceptance, political support, and the subsequent policy performance. First, because, in addition to the beliefs about the policy instrument itself, trust in the political institutions responsible for its application and opinions about the legitimacy of the implementation process also influence its acceptability (Esaiasson, 2010; Jagers, Matti, and Nilsson, 2017). Institutional trust is vital for the formation of attitudes towards complex and controversial issues, as the public must trust that the political elites and experts understand the problem the instrument is meant to address, accurately assess the need and its effectiveness, and implement effective systems for the application and the fulfillment of the policy (Jagers, Matti, and Nilsson, 2017). Sociological research on environmental justice indicates a link between low levels of institutional trust and high levels of environmental and technological risks among socially vulnerable communities (Pellow and Brulle 2005; Jones and Rainey 2006). Low levels of institutional trust, or the perception that the policy implementation process has not taken citizens’ concerns into account, can reduce acceptance levels and even change perceptions of the political instrument.

Second, specific beliefs about the policy and emotions, trust, and perceptions of legitimacy can be influenced by various contextual factors, such as urban form (Hysing and Isaksson 2015), congestion severity (Albalate and Bel 2009; Attard and Ison 2010), the functioning of the public transport system, air pollution levels (Wang et al., 2021), or car dependency (Gaunt et al. 2007; Kottenhoff and Freij, 2009). As Hysing and Isaksson (2015) conclude in their study on congestion charges in Stockholm and Gothenburg, in addition to local political conditions and procedural factors, local contextual conditions, in particular urban form, congestion levels, and the functioning of public transport, determined the different levels of acceptance of congestion charges in the two cities. A recent study using survey data in several Latin American cities shows that urban factors, more than individual factors, appear to be particularly important to explain the support for decongestion policies such as congestion charges and traffic restrictions (Wang et al., 2021). It is reasonable to assume that these and other contextual factors influence how citizens experience or anticipate experiencing the proposed reduction measures, thereby generating associated beliefs and emotions that determine their acceptability and acceptance.

Context: Urban Congestion in Large Latin American Cities

The study area includes four large Latin American capitals: Bogota, Mexico City, Santiago de Chile, and Quito (Table 1). Although Mexico City stands out by its large number of inhabitants (INEGI, 2020), Bogota is the most densely populated, with 21,526 inhabitants per square kilometer (Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE), 2019), followed at some distance by Santiago (Corporación Ciudades, 2020). There are remarkable differences in terms of per capita GDP. Mexico City has the highest income level with 17,381 dollars per capita (INEGI, 2019), followed by the Metropolitan Region of Santiago with 12,178 dollars (Observa. Observatorio del Sistema de Ciencia Tecnología Conocimiento e Innovación, 2021). Bogota (9057 dollars per capita) (US Commercial Service, 2021) and the province of Pichincha, where Quito is located, with 8629 are far behind (“¿Cuáles son las 10 provincias con mayor PIB per cápita en Ecuador?,” 2019). Santiago de Chile and Mexico City have the highest motorization rates, with 256 and 250 cars per 1000 inhabitants, respectively (“Parque vehicular de Santiago crecerá en 546 mil unidades a 2025 y llegará a 2,7 millones,” 2020) (Valencia, 2016) (Mobilitas, n.d.). However, the percentage of motorization of private vehicles is more significant in Bogota, with 33% (Secretaria de Movilidad de Bogotá, 2019). The capital of Colombia is also the most congested of the four and the fourth in the world according to the “Traffic congestion ranking, TomTom Traffic Index” (2022). Santiago and Mexico City trail behind. The four cities present high levels of air pollution, either by particulate matter or nitrogen dioxide (“WHO Air Quality Database (Update 2022),” 2022) (Veeduria Distrital, 2021) (Secretaria de Ambiente, 2020).

Table 1 Basic characteristics of the cities studied
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In Bogota, the traffic restriction system was installed in 1998 when the circulation of cars on certain days was limited depending on the last number of the vehicle’s license plate (Alcaldía Mayor de Bogotá D.C., 1998). This measure has been extended to other vehicles and schedules over the years. The restriction is currently for cars, pickup trucks, or private service vehicles within the city limits of Bogota D.C. from Monday to Friday between 6:00 am and 9:00 pm according to the last digit on the license plate: even numbers on even days and uneven numbers on uneven days (Secretaria Distrital de Movilidad, 2022).

The Hoy No Circula program was first implemented in Mexico City in 1989. It was applied only in the winter periods at its inception, but then it was established as a permanent measure. As we finish writing this manuscript, the program is being applied in the Mexico Valley Metropolitan Area. It restricts the circulation of vehicles from Monday to Saturday from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm, based on the holograms in effect and the license plate number (Comisión Ambiental de la Megalópolis, 2022).

In Quito, due to the problems of air pollution and traffic congestion, a license plate–based traffic restriction system was implemented some decades later than in the other cities from 2010 (Concejo Metropolitano de Quito, 2010; Remache Coyago et al., 2017). Its operating schedule was changed on several occasions recently, until arriving at 6:00 to 9:30 am and 4:00 to 9:00 pm (Quito Informa, 2021). The measure applies daily based on the last number of the vehicle’s license plate. All vehicles must accept the measure, including taxis, electric or hybrid cars, and motorcycles.

In the case of Santiago de Chile, a vehicle restriction is fixed between 1 May and 31 August, where the restriction is based on two digits on vehicles with a green stamp (with catalytic converters) registered before September 2011, without a green stamp (without catalytic converters), and motorcycles made before 2002. When an environmental pre-emergency or emergency is declared, additional digits are added to the restriction (SEREMI. Región Metropolitana de Santiago, 2022).

Methods and Data

Design: Developing a Multisite Study in Pandemic Times

The design of this research is cross-sectional, qualitative, and multisite. The selection of Bogotá, Mexico City, Quito, and Santiago de Chile as the focus of this study was informed by a multitude of factors. First, each of these urban centers represents the capital of their respective nations and boasts a populace numbering in the millions. Second, the cities in question have garnered a place in a variety of international rankings and reports — such as TomTom, Waze, and IDB — that highlight the extent of time wasted by commuters. Third, the four cities have experienced significant challenges in relation to air pollution. Lastly, and perhaps most notably, all four municipalities have implemented regulations pertaining to vehicle usage based on license plate numbers.

The study is based on 98 semi-structured interviews and digital diaries of residents in four Latin American capitals: Santiago de Chile, Bogota, Mexico City, and Quito. The utilization of dialogic techniques enables the establishment of a standardized framework of topics that embody a shared reality within the urban areas being examined, while retaining the flexibility and dynamism necessary to facilitate a smooth and amiable exchange between the researcher and the interviewee. All the participants were informed and consented to participate voluntarily in the study before being interviewed. To preserve the participants’ anonymity, the names have been anonymized.

The semi-structured interviews were designed to ascertain the specific beliefs about vehicular restriction measures, including the perception of effectiveness, the perception of personal impacts on freedom, and the legitimacy or trust in the political institutions (supplementary material). In addition, the interviews identified experiences and emotional responses related to urban mobility. In the design of the data collection protocol, we worked closely with local collaborators to ensure the validity of the instruments and address possible cultural biases. The interviews were conducted via Zoom in May and September 2021. Digital interviews were seen as preferable to face-to-face or telephone interviews for several reasons. During the pandemic, interviews were suitable for people who were difficult to visit. The research team’s international trips were also limited and subject to several conditions and restrictions imposed by border control and research centers. In addition, by limiting face-to-face contact, we kept participants and researchers safe and contributed to scaling down the spread of COVID-19. We also saved time and costs, increasing the feasibility of conducting research simultaneously in four countries. Digital interviews offered the possibility of collecting visual and nonverbal supplementary information, such as facial expressions and body language that are crucial in qualitative research (Bryman, 2016). Interviews lasted between half an hour and 1 h and 20 min and did not require translators. They were conducted in Spanish, the native language of the participants and the researchers. The process of transcription involved rendering the interviews in their entirety, word-for-word, and the resultant texts were subjected to analysis in their original language. The researchers undertook the task of translating the quotations presented in the “Results: Exploring the Complexities of License Plate–Based Driving Restrictions Programs in Latin American Cities” section into English.

Following the interviews, participants were requested to capture photographs or brief video/audio self-reports depicting their everyday mobility experiences. A preliminary analysis was conducted soon after the participants submitted their digital diaries. This initial examination geared towards comprehending the developing narratives and statements that were more appropriate to the participants’ experiences, emotional reactions, and subjectivity. In the subsequent stage, the collated visual and auditory material was subjected to further scrutiny to identify recurrent patterns in daily movements across each of the cities.

Sample Characteristics

Sampling by convenience was used (Silverman, 2015) to guarantee that the sample from each city included a wide range of sociodemographic characteristics. With this strategy, we aimed to find cases that were relevant to the research question (Bryman, 2016). The participation of all respondents was voluntary, and they were not compensated for their involvement. The age range of participants varied between 19 and 71, and they represented a wide spectrum of occupations and lifestyles, thereby creating a diverse profile of automobile and public transportation users. In Table 2, we provide a summary of the basic sociodemographic characteristics of the study participants. Generally, most of the respondents in the four cities are between 30 and 59 years, while only a small proportion is over 60 years of age. The sample exhibited a relatively balanced gender distribution, although there was a greater representation of women in Bogota and Quito. Most of the participants have university studies. Only two of the participants reported owning a second car.

Table 2 Characteristics of the respondents
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Analysis Strategy

The present study adopts an episodic narrative approach to examine participants’ mobility experiences, with the aim of situating their perceptions and experiences within a broader cultural context (Flick 2000). This analytical perspective seeks to capture momentary accounts of individuals’ life episodes, in order to generate a comprehensive understanding of the world, rather than isolating specific occurrences (Jovchelovitch and Bauer 2000). The interview questions and the data recorded in the digital diaries were designed to contextualize the accounts instead of evoking abstract answers, trying not to neglect relevant sociocultural aspects to understand public acceptance.

The transcriptions of the interviews, the text, audio, video, and images were analyzed with NVivo. We used a narrative data coding system to identify similarities and divergences in the mobility experiences reported (Brooks et al., 2015). Initial descriptive coding categories were drawn from the literature on transportation policy and the themes that guided the interviews. Although emotions were not initially the focus of the study or the script of the interviews, during the interviews and, very significantly, in the initial coding process, the researchers understood that the emotional responses to restrictive policies and alternative experiences to car mobility were a central aspect. The data collection format of the digital interviews where people could talk about their daily experiences in the privacy and peace of their homes, without feeling invaded, created a context particularly conducive to manifesting the emotional practices related to daily mobility. On this point, the researchers returned to the data with a particular emphasis on the different forms of emotional engagement as the focus of the analysis.

Next, the participants’ statements and narratives about their beliefs in three analysis dimensions are described (Jagers et al. 2017): perceived effectiveness, perceived distributional effects, and personal outcome expectancy. Although the perception of loss of freedom could separate conceptually and constitute an independent dimension, the participants linked it to other personal impacts. To maintain discursive consistency, we have chosen to present the results of both dimensions together.

Results: Exploring the Complexities of License Plate–Based Driving Restrictions Programs in Latin American Cities

Perceived Effectiveness

In general, two distinct interpretations are discernible regarding the effectiveness of the measures aimed at enhancing air quality and managing traffic. The former viewpoint is characterized by acknowledging the positive albeit partial impacts of such initiatives and their significance. Conversely, the latter narrative reflects negative emotions such as fatigue, frustration, or apathy which participants associate with the inadequacy of the restrictions.

According to the views expressed by a number of participants residing in the four cities, the present policy has a moderate effect on the smooth flow of vehicular traffic and on the improvement of the city’s air quality. Generally, the participants opine that during the days when the restriction is enforced, the number of cars on the roads decreases and their commuting time to work or school is reduced. As one respondent has remarked, “If people’s mobility is not restricted, then everyone goes out. Everyone goes out and it’s absolute chaos.” (Bogotá). Additionally, some participants have reported that air quality appears to be less oppressive, although the majority of them have admitted to not being particularly attentive to this issue.

I think that rush hour traffic would be much worse if there were no restrictions. I’m comparing it, for example, with Saturdays, days when it is impossible to drive around the city because of the traffic. You feel significant differences between the time just before the restriction starts and when it begins. I mean, when the restriction begins, in the first hours, the traffic feels lighter. And the same happens when it finishes. The hour before the restriction ends is calmer. And just after it’s impossible again. Then, I think yes it works. (Bog_12)

And I repeat, that works because the people driving around on the day that is not their day, because they can be stopped, get fined, that kind of thing. (Mex_13)

Despite the prevailing viewpoint that there has been a slight improvement, a subset of the participants maintained that they observed no discernible differences on days when the measure is implemented versus when it is not. While it is widely acknowledged certain restrictions on automobile usage are necessary due to the exceedingly high number of private vehicles, there is a consensus that various elements of the policy and its implementation must be re-examined, considering the specific circumstances of major Latin American cities. These inadequacies relate to the policy’s design and implementation, and the differences between Bogota, Mexico City, and Quito, on the one hand, and Santiago, on the other, are notables in this regard. Specifically, in Santiago de Chile, the restrictions are perceived to be less stringent, and many individuals are deemed to possess a “green stamp,” which denotes the qualification of vehicles to operate almost every day.

I know that the vehicular restriction exists, obviously, it works in the winter. It comes out of the amount of contamination that existed. But nowadays it’s also used to reduce. Good… now the problem is that it doesn’t have much effect. Most of the cars have the green stamp, so it only affects us when there is pre-emergency or emergency. (San_4)

Based on the interviews conducted, it was found that the individuals exhibited a heightened sense of awareness regarding the impact of the imposed restrictions on their quality of life. The participants noted a significant improvement in the air quality of their cities and a more pleasant experience during car rides due to the stringent mobility limitations implemented in the four cities for a prolonged period during the pandemic lockdowns. In the view of this, the participants expressed that the adoption of a work-from-home policy in the post-pandemic era could potentially serve as an effective solution to curb air pollution by reducing the number of hours spent in traffic jams, while simultaneously promoting a better work-life balance. However, the participants have observed that both the governments and corporations are enforcing a premature and short-sighted return to in-person work, which is somewhat contradictory to the lessons learned during the pandemic and the current climate crisis.

In the first dimension, the emotions of pleasure, certainty, and satisfaction are identified. The voices that emerge indicate:

And then, it improved, mobility improved, but then anyway it also affects certain people who only have one vehicle (Bog_9).

According to multiple participants, the license plate–based vehicular restriction policy, despite its effectiveness, has had an unintended effect. Families with a certain purchasing power tend to purchase additional vehicles to circumvent the restrictions and maintain their ability to use a private vehicle on a daily basis. This trend has led to an increase in the number of vehicles on the road, rendering the policy ineffective in reducing the traffic congestion and improving air quality.

A number of respondents reported that the purchase of a second or third old vehicle was a common practice and this behavior was perceived as contradicting the goal of incentivizing the vehicle fleet renewal and reducing the negative externalities of air pollution. The criticism of this negative externality was particularly strong among participants from Bogota and Mexico City, but similar sentiments were expressed by interviewees from Santiago de Chile and Quito.

The majority of participants shared the view that the acquisition of additional vehicle rendered the restriction policy ineffective in achieving its intended outcomes, and it also created a sense of unfairness as not all families had the financial resources to afford multiple cars. Participants expressed a range of emotions including exhaustion, apathy, aversion, displeasure, doubt, and frustration when discussing this issue.

Then, there was more demand for cars, there were more people so… when the program started, they said: “no, because you are not going to limit my right to use my things, no. I am going to use them when I want”. So then, a lot of people stood up for themselves, and well, that’s how it got left after years. There are people, families who have two cars to not stop driving around. Those who could, bought another car. (Bog_7)

According to observations made by respondents in Santiago, it has been noted that the restrictions on private car mobility are not enforced throughout the year, and are solely imposed on vehicles lacking catalytic converters, except for instances of health emergency. This confluence of circumstances has resulted in a scenario where numerous families are never subject to mobility limitations on private vehicles. Consequently, this has contributed to a prevailing perception perennial traffic congestion and a belief that the aforementioned policy measures have failed to yield the desired outcomes.

I believe it works less and less. Because very few cars that have that restriction have it for more days. Now there are a lot of cars. Families don’t have just one car, they have 2-3. Then it doesn’t matter that a car is restricted, if they can use the other one… It doesn’t help much. So, in reality, the congestion in Santiago never eases up (...) You can see it clearly because, generally, in winter there is almost always a pre-emergency and there is the issue of the license plates [referring to vehicular restrictions], and I see the same number of cars every day. I don’t see any change in the flow. (Sant_3)

The participants revealed that various elements characteristic of the Latin American urban context make the effective application of such policies challenging. One of the primary issues raised by participants is the lack of civic behavior exhibited by some sectors of the population, which is criticized in the four cities examined. The interviewees expressed concerns that certain individuals fail to comply with the restrictions, which is reflected in the statements containing expressions such as “no conscience,” “there are irresponsible people,” and “people have no respect and go out anyway.” Such remarks denote the participants’ mistrust of the civic culture of their fellow citizens.

Another salient line of argument emerging from the participants’ narratives is the difficulties involved in effectively monitoring compliance in cities with extensive territories, such as Bogota, Quito, Santiago de Chile, or Mexico City. The cultural and geographic context of these cities seems to foster non-compliance. The participants reported instances of individuals covering their car license plates with tape, and avoiding driving on streets with police checks, which further complicates the effective monitoring and the enforcement of restriction policies.

In Bogota, Mexico City, and, to a lesser extent, Quito, participants have expressed concerns about corruption potentially impairing the municipalities’ monitoring capacity and, therefore, the effectiveness of their policies. During interview, various forms of bribery to civil servants have been repeatedly mentioned as means to avoid fines or strict inspection. The paradigmatic example of such situations is that of the “mordidas [little bites]” at the vehicle inspection stations in Mexico City. To control and reduce emissions, all vehicles circulating within the municipality must undergo scheduled inspections annually or every 6 months. At the stations, public officials evaluate the pollution emissions from the vehicle’s exhaust and issue a decal granting permission to drive on restriction days. Respondents explain that they have encountered situations where their well-maintained car failed the inspection, while they observed another visibly poorly maintained vehicle receive the ecological decal. Similar occurrences have been reported in interviews in Bogota and, to a lesser extent, in Quito, although they did not arise in interviews in Santiago de Chile.

In all four cities, there were observations indicating that that the controls were stricter for residents but not as effective for public or freight transport, as reported by one or more participants. Such a disparity is believed to significantly undermine the effectiveness of the measure to improve air quality. Participants have note that heavy vehicles generating emissions enter the city daily without appearing to be affected by the restrictions. In general, while some participants have found the vehicular restriction measures effective in reducing traffic and pollution levels by comparing the days when the measure is implemented and those when it is not, others have focused their attention on contextual elements that, in their view, diminish the potential effectiveness of the vehicular restrictions. Many participants perceive the license plate–based driving restrictions as inadequate due to poor implementation.

Perceived Distributional Effects

The majority of respondents perceive the goal of controlling urban air pollution as legitimate, and they also believe that measures to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads are necessary to shorten travel time. However, questions have arisen about which sectors of the population are truly bearing the costs of these restrictions. Participants in all four cities generally agree that it is unfair that upper-middle-class individuals can afford a second car or less ecological cars, thereby evading the restrictions. The participants argue that those with greater economic resources enjoy less congested roads and can drive every day because they have multiple vehicles, while residents in the most vulnerable neighborhoods are forced to use public transport. Living in areas that are distant from economic and business centers, individuals in poorer sectors must take long, multimodal trips on public transport, involving various transfers. This is often physically and mentally exhausting, and it poses a threat to their well-being and security.

In Mexico City, some participants express their discontent over the requirement for mandatory bi-annual vehicle inspections and the facts that they are subject of restrictions, while observing heavily polluting trucks entering the city. Three respondents commented that, ostensibly, the trucks are subjected to circulation restrictions for a substantial duration of the day. However, they contend that the inspectors often accept bribes, known locally as “mordida,” to allow unchecked passage of these vehicles. This same sense of frustration with inconsistency is mirrored by some respondents and when they are compelled to use public transportation on a restriction day, and they perceive the bus to be emitting excessive pollutants:

You, as a private user, stop using the car. But then you have to use another means of transport. And you realize that those vehicles aren’t inspected either. The buses are blowing out all kinds of nastiness into the atmosphere and you say: “good, ok, my car is not circulating.” But I am in this transport that is worse than mine, because it smells of smoke, diesel and it smells like the gas is pouring out… Actually, I don’t think it’s fair. (Mex_21)

In general, the perception of fair distribution appears to be mediated by low levels of trust in institutions responsible for designing restrictive measures. This is particularly evident in Mexico City, Bogota, and Quito. In Bogota, constant changes in the Pico y Placa policy (driving restriction policy) have evoked different interpretations among the participants. While some advocate for extending the restrictions, others focus on the differentiated negative impacts that the adjustments often entail. For instance, prohibited motorcycles from carrying passengers for a period was a strategy to enhance security in the city, given the high incidence of robberies and assaults committed by individuals on motorcycles. However, some respondents argue that unfairly affects individuals who have purchased motorcycles as an affordable alternative to cars, as they are forced to undertake long and arduous journeys on public transport.

One participant contacted the research team some months after the field work was complete to provide insights concerning the unequitable consequences of the “solidarity payment.” This measure, instituted by the Municipality of Bogota, allows for the payment of solidarity fees on a monthly basis, thereby enabling exceptional circulation during operational days of the Pico y Placa. According to the participant, this measure was deemed unjust because it places an undue burden on individuals from the most vulnerable socioeconomic sectors, who lack the necessary economic means to pay the extra fee. The respondent further opined that, despite congestion, the loss of comfort when travelling by public transport or by bicycle compared to private car is remarkable. Ultimately, the privilege of benefiting from the solidarity payment only appears to be able to individuals with high socioeconomic status, who can afford to purchase multiple vehicles.

Perceived Personal Outcomes

The personal impacts resulting from the intervention under investigation display significant variability, primarily due to the diverse circumstances of the respondents. In this regard, it was observed that individuals who commute to their place of work or study via walking or cycling tend to accept the measure as it leads to a reduction in the number of cars on the road, thereby enhancing air quality. However, it is important to note that these individuals are a minority in our sample, as the majority of respondents undertake relatively long routine journeys. Additionally, only a few participants reported owning a second car, resulting in most individuals relying on public transport on days when the Pico y Placa restriction is in effect.

When analyzing how the participants value their experiences using public transport when they are affected by the vehicular restriction, a range of narratives is observed, which are characterized by a polarized expression of emotions, divided into positive and negative dimensions. In the transcriptions analyzed, positive emotions account for less than 10% of the formed narrative positions, and they are marked by certainty and pleasure. On the other hand, the experiences of travelling on public transport are generally unpleasant, particularly in Bogota, where Transmilenio (rapid bus transit system) trips frequently encounter delays, thereby generating a continuous feeling of insecurity and vulnerability among users. Respondents have identified several issues related to overcrowding, problems with alighting at the right stop, reckless driving, thefts (both with and without violence), and sexual abuse, which they claim occur regularly on this mode of transport. Additionally, participants expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of a metro service in Bogota, despite the existence of viability studies for several years. They identify the Transmilenio as a symbol of the city’s decay and as an example of corruption, particularly because it was initially presented as a doorway to urban modernity.

It also seems to me that the public transport units do not satisfy the demand there is in terms of population. The means of transport that we have are not efficient, they are falling apart... That is, a lot of things have happened on public transport. That makes, well, people are delayed too much, mainly when it rains, that’s mostly when people’s mobility is affected. (Sant_17)

The assessment of trips using public transportation during vehicular restrictions in Mexico City appears to be more favorable compared to Bogota and Quito. Some participants emphasize the adjusted price and the advances made in recent decades to prevent sexual abuse on the metro. Nevertheless, most participants in all three cities complain of overcrowding and frequently encounter unsafe situations. The obligation to use public transport increases the exposure to risky situations, which are less common when using private cars. In particular, several participants (mostly women) reported frequent incidents of violent assaults at bus, mini-bus, or taxi stops in these three cities. Three respondents voiced apprehension over the recent Mexico City subway accident that transpired a few months prior to the interviews. The incident, which claimed the lives of twenty individuals and caused several injuries, took place when the subway collapsed on an overpass located in the municipality of Tlahuac. The interviewees attributed this accident to disregard and insufficient public investment in transport infrastructure, which they regarded as critical.

Some participants choose to use bicycles as an alternative means of transportation when affected by vehicular restrictions, especially in Bogota, and during the pandemic, the bicycle is seen as a safer means to avoid infection. However, long journeys by bicycle to reach workplaces or educational institutions also involve greater risk to residents’ physical and emotional well-being. Bicycle lanes, where they exist, are not designed to accommodate the large number of users travelling during rush hours, and several respondents have reported accidents resulting from poor lighting, poor road conditions, or antisocial behavior. As a result, participants frequently express emotions of tension, stress, or fear in their accounts.

You go out here for a while and… between the smoke, the car horns, the violence people do… Here there is no respect for standing in line to get on the bus, people push you, kick you, they shove you to the floor and the bus doesn’t even stop, you have to look for a way to get on. All this lead you to follow in a chain of violence, of stress. For me that’s the greatest upset. And, in my case, despite going by bike when the restriction is on, there are days that I have 3-4-5 fights in a journey of 12 kilometers to where I work. Because they drive the car into you, or the sidewalk sellers push you, the police do nothing; things like that. That’s what affects me the most. (Qui_07)

Numerous individuals encounter discernible difficulties in adjusting to daily commuting via public transportation. In its current application, the policy is widely perceived as inequitable by the majority of participants, yet they tend to accept it regardless of the drawbacks. Generally, it is not perceived that the measure has a significant impact on the participants’ individual freedom. Respondents maintain that the restrictive policy is essential to enhance the collective comfort by promoting cleaner air and, mainly, reducing road traffic. Hence, despite the policy does impact individual freedom, it is relativized in the participants’ narratives.

Discussion: Key Insights and Implications

The purpose of this study was to examine the specific beliefs and emotional responses of residents in large Latin American cities regarding policy instruments designed to mitigate urban air pollution and traffic congestion. We focused our analysis of the data collected through semi-structured interviews and digital diaries from four cities on a set of emotions and perceptions identified in the literature as direct antecedents of acceptance and satisfaction with environmental policy tools. We sought to explore the impact of local context on residents’ experiences and attitudes towards restriction policies, guided by the hypothesis that specific local contexts interact with the characteristics of individuals and policies, thereby influencing the specific emotions and beliefs about the measures and, consequently, the satisfaction and acceptance of the policies.

Our analysis centers on three primary beliefs that contribute to policy acceptance, namely perceived effectiveness, perceived fairness, and personal outcome expectancy (Jagers et al., 2017). It is significant that the beliefs about effects on freedom did not have great relevance in the participants’ narrations. The respondents exhibit two primary beliefs regarding the effectiveness of vehicular restriction measures. First, they recognize the limited but positive and necessary impacts of the measure. Second, they report emotions such as exhaustion, frustration, or apathy associated with the inefficiency of restrictions. While most respondents consider license plate–based driving restrictions programs essential in controlling urban air pollution and reducing traffic, they tend to perceive the effects of these measures as unfair since they do not affect all the citizens equally. With regard to the perceived personal impacts, participants reported positive and negative emotions, mainly related to their personal experience of public transportation.

The findings of our study provide enhanced insight into the mechanisms underlying the shift from acceptability (prior to the implementation of the measure) to acceptance (following the implementation of the measure) that result from the individuals’ experience with the intervention. According to longitudinal research on acceptance, changes in the beliefs regarding the attributes and impacts of policy instruments, resulting from direct experience with the policy (Börjesson, Eliasson, and Hamilton 2016; Jagers et al. 2017), partially explain the changes in acceptance after the implementation. For instance, among residents who perceive that the policy has improved local traffic or environment, or that the restriction system is fairer than anticipated, the level of acceptance remarkably increases. Conversely, if the surroundings do not improve or the system appears to be more unfair than expected, the level of acceptance drops significantly following the implementation. Our data provides illustrations of the effects of experience, mediated by beliefs and emotions, on the acceptance of the measures.

Furthermore, the study results suggest that the specific contextual conditions of policy implementation have an impact on residents’ experiences with the policy and, thus, their acceptance and satisfaction with it. Some contextual aspects, such as the characteristics of the public transport system, may influence the acceptance of pollution reduction policies (Hysing and Isaksson, 2015). High levels of congestion and an efficient public transport system that improves after the implementation of policy can increase public acceptance. In contrast, a local context with low levels of congestion and high levels of mobility (e.g., car-based lifestyles) can reduce public acceptance. For example, Wang, Rodríguez, and Mahendra (2021) found that public support for traffic restriction policies tends to be higher in cities with large concentrations of fine particles and those that have already implemented driving restrictions, as opposed to those without such policies. Our data also suggest that perceived safety and interpersonal trust may serve as potential drivers of public acceptance and satisfaction with implemented policies. These findings align with the sociological research tradition that highlights the significance of contextual level dynamics in fostering pro-environmental behavior and community engagement (Dunlap 2008; Lockie 2009; Macias 2022).

It is possible to derive three fundamental implications from our study. First, our study highlights the importance of considering residents’ experiences in the design and implementation of urban traffic and air pollution measures. The direct experience of citizens with such measures in their daily lives shapes their beliefs and emotions, which in turn influence their satisfaction and acceptance of the interventions. The more certain the politicians responsible are that the residents will perceive and feel the predicted positive effect (environmental or related to quality of life), the more likely it will be that the acceptance level will increase once the measure is applied. In addition, the fewer the unjust effects between the public and particular groups (socioeconomic, demographic, or geographic) produced in designing the measure, the more likely the application will win public support.

Second, our study stresses the need of considering the local context in the design and implementation of pollution and urban traffic reduction measures, emphasizing a departure from a rationalist perspective that assumes the acceptance of optimal environmental policies once implemented. The study suggests that solely relying on the policy to produce a significant and unidirectional change in the local context is not sufficient to increase public acceptance of the vehicular restriction policies in large Latin American cities. Structural changes that improve the conditions of the alternatives to private car travel are necessary for increasing public acceptance of such policies.

Third, our study highlights the relevance of considering the emotional response to the application of restrictions in commuters’ daily trips. In the field of sociology, there is a growing relevance in incorporating the observation of affective states into the practices of individuals, thereby recapturing emotions as an analytical dimension of social processes (Bericat 2016; Ariza 2021). The inclusion of emotions in this area of study provides a relational understanding of the acceptance of vehicular restriction policies, where the interconnections between senses, perceptions, and experience can be observed. Our research demonstrates that, despite the potential importance of emotions in policy acceptability, there is a lack of research on this topic. Future studies should aim to better understand the role of emotions in shaping attitudes towards public policies, and to explore the mechanisms through which emotions influence policy acceptability. In particular, researchers should examine how emotions interact with other factors such as trust, credibility, and perceived benefits and costs of policies. This could shed light on how policymakers can design policies that are more emotionally appealing and acceptable to the public. Overall, there is a clear need for further research to better understand the complex relationship between emotions and policy acceptability.

Conclusions: Moving Towards an Equitable and Sustainable Transportation Model for Latin American Cities

Our article proceeds from the assumption that the context in which vehicular restrictions are applied is fundamental to understanding their level of public acceptance. To this end, our investigation delves into the beliefs and emotions associated with such policies, in the context of four major metropolises: Bogota, Mexico City, Santiago de Chile, and Quito. In Latin America, urban milieu is characterized by an elevate density of social interactions, which necessitates unfettered mobility and fluid transportation between different points within the city in order to carry out daily activities. The sustained and, to a certain extent, inorganic population growth of Latin American cities and the lack of regulations, coupled with a paucity of infrastructure deficits, resulted in a distinct mobility context that often sees roadways gridlocked during peak hours. This study illustrates how, under these conditions, vehicular restrictions generate social practices of resistance and resignation in the circuits of urban mobility, which in turn are expressed in specific beliefs and mainly negative emotions. The observations on daily urban mobility outlined in this article underscore the necessity of replacing the dominant paradigm in Latin America of individualized, motorized transportation with alternative models that accord primacy to public transportation, as part of energy transitions grounded in principles of social equity.

The responses to environmental policies do not take place in a vacuum. The context influences the perception and emotional responses to vehicular restriction measures. Despite the progress made in recent decades, inhabitants of large Latin American cities continue to endure uncomfortable commutes, be it due to traffic congestion, poor air quality, or the inadequacy of alternative modes of transportations to private cars. Consequently, they view restriction policies as a necessary evil within a broader framework of urban governance characterized by distrust in the responsible politicians and the ineffectiveness of interventions. This study aims to elucidate how social life is configured through daily mobility patterns, and adapted to the institutional norms that seek to limit the use of the private car and improve the air quality in densely populated cities. We contend that sociological analysis of the embodied experiences in urban traffic is crucial for why people either accept or reject such measures and how they make mobility-related decisions. Our study underscores that policies aimed at reducing urban traffic congestion are not neutral and possess the potential for social transformation by engendering new inequities or reinforcing existing ones. Future research must conduct comparative analyses of cities in the Global North and South to identify how similar policies can produce unequal patterns and perpetuate unfair outcomes based on the idiosyncrasies of their application context.