Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Traffic

FHWA Gleefully Reports That Driving Is Rising Again

By Angie Schmitt | Aug 21, 2015 | No Comments

After flatlining for nearly a decade, the mileage driven by Americans is rising once again. That means more traffic overwhelming city streets, slowing down buses, and spewing pollutants into the air. But to the Federal Highway Administration, it’s a development to report with barely contained glee. This June, Americans drove 8.7 billion more miles than last June, […]

Why Traffic Congestion Has Rebounded in the CBD

By Charles Komanoff | Jul 29, 2015 | 13 Comments

Traffic congestion in the Manhattan core is rebounding. Travel-speed data culled from taxicab GPS and released last month by City transportation and taxi officials suggest that average motor vehicle travel speeds in the Central Business District fell by 8.5 percent from 2012 to 2014. The slowdown follows years of flat or even rising speeds — a phenomenon that […]

Hey Brian Lehrer — Traffic Congestion Is Not a Vision Zero Tactic

By Brad Aaron | Jul 24, 2015 | 28 Comments

This morning on WNYC Brian Lehrer said he didn’t understand why Mayor de Blasio would want to penalize Uber for making traffic congestion worse, since the mayor is “causing congestion purposely” to make streets safer for walking and biking. Here’s an excerpt: They want to make driving in the city as unpalatable as possible so people […]

The Real Reason Uber Traffic Matters in NYC

By Ben Fried | Jul 23, 2015 | 16 Comments

For a moment yesterday, it seemed like the big clash between the taxi medallion industry and app-based car services, framed in terms of Uber’s effect on snarled Manhattan traffic, might veer into unexpectedly brilliant territory. There was Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris in the Daily News, telling the MTA that City Hall would consider the Move NY traffic […]

Uber’s Own Numbers Show It’s Making Traffic Worse

By Stephen Miller | Jul 22, 2015 | 32 Comments

Uber blasted out an Excel spreadsheet to reporters this morning, accompanied by a story and editorial in the Daily News, with data providing a snapshot of how many Uber vehicles are on Manhattan streets south of 59th Street, New York’s central business district. While Uber claims the data shows its vehicles aren’t responsible for congestion in the city core, […]

Uber and Manhattan Gridlock Are Rising Together

By Charles Komanoff | Jul 8, 2015 | 10 Comments

How responsible is Uber for the 9 percent drop in Manhattan travel speeds that New York City transportation officials reported last month? The answer appears to be: quite a lot. If — and it’s a big if — the surge in use of Uber and other app-based car services is not offset by a decline in use of […]

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