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Study: carpooling apps could reduce traffic 3x in NYC

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Re: Study: carpooling apps could reduce traffic 3x in NYC

#141

Post by BurningFrog »

chongli wrote: post #15
cashmonkey85 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see this in Tokyo. Americans just stuck at home, stranded and helpless because of their culturally reasons. Oh no wait they just use the awesome public transport system. But it's very difficult for them to enjoy such efficience because...you..know...culture

Huh? Americans don't have a cultural aversion to using world class public transit when in a place like Tokyo. They have a cultural aversion to altering their cities in the radical ways that'd be necessary to build a functional public transit. They call this NIMBY.

NIMBY-ism mostly depends on legislation.

Most people do not want new construction in their neighborhood. I assume that's as true in Japan as elsewhere.

Regardless of culture, if the neighbors have a veto against construction, it will be stopped. If they do not, it will be built.

Re: Study: carpooling apps could reduce traffic 3x in NYC

#142

Post by pavel_lishin »

emj wrote: post #128
1_2__3 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And in a dense urban core in a mild climate that makes perfect sense. Which greater Manhattan is not.

What? NYC is perfect for biking.

I wouldn't say that NYC is uniformly perfect for biking throughout the year. The summer is very hot and humid, effectively requiring you to shower before going to work. The winter is cold, and the roads and frequently covered in snow and/or ice.

Both of these problems can be worked around, but they are daunting for anyone who's not already fairly dedicated; a newbie isn't going to ride to his law office in 95 degree weather, or through slush.

(And that's just the weather; I'm not taking into account the crappy car traffic through most of Manhattan, or the huge valley around 125th street, or the fact that going across the Brooklyn Bridge is incredibly annoying whenever pedestrians are present, etc.)

Re: Study: carpooling apps could reduce traffic 3x in NYC

#143

Post by pavel_lishin »

JBReefer wrote: post #123
CodeSheikh wrote: post #37

New York City includes Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island as well. Misleading title and perhaps incomplete study if footprint of cabs is not included from those remaining boroughs in this study. If you live in Manhattan, then you don't use cabs as much within Manhattan because subways cover Manhattan pretty well and travel times in cabs are hellish comparing to subway commute. You often use cabs when you commu…

You are incorrect. Brooklyn and Queens have subway networks that are each larger than the next largest subway networks in the US. Brooklyn has a slightly better network than Queens, but both are fantastic. Eastern Queens (after the end of the 7 train) indeed is a transit desert, but still has many commuter rail stations. There's a station central-eastern Brooklyn called "Broadway Junction" that has as many connection…

> Brooklyn and Queens have subway networks that are each larger than the next largest subway networks in the US

But they are still much less densely covered than Manhattan: https://cwhong.carto.com/viz/6dfca01c-47e5-11e6-9fd3-0ee66e2...

Re: Study: carpooling apps could reduce traffic 3x in NYC

#144

Post by pavel_lishin »

cleetus wrote: post #134
guessmyname wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't know how big New York City was until I went from Central Park (North side) to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden... walking... never again!

For my 30th bday, some friends and I walked around the perimeter of Manhattan. It took just over 20 hours, but that's mostly because we stopped several at bars along the way.

There's a yearly event that does this, called The Great Saunter. A friend of mine did it last year, and we met her and walked for a mile or so.

It took her and most others around 12 hours; I can easily believe 20 if you're stopping at bars along the way :P

Re: Study: carpooling apps could reduce traffic 3x in NYC

#145

Post by pavel_lishin »

ebiester wrote: post #90
Moral_ wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're called buses

It's the Dollar Van concept as below. The difference between it and a bus is that the dollar van doesn't pick people up in between, speeding up transactions and ensuring limited stops. The speed of pickup/dropoff is a large issue.

So it's an express bus?

Re: Study: carpooling apps could reduce traffic 3x in NYC

#146

Post by bogomipz »

bradleyjg wrote: post #79
Retric wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is really a function of rent control. NYC heavily subsidizes a retired population while discouraging ultra high density development. Further, after changing jobs it's often better not to move. So, you sacrifice density on people who don't have a economic incentive for living in the city, discourage short commutes, and discourages increasing density. ED: Yes, that includes Rent Stabilized.

In NYC rent control refers to a program that freezes rents. It is all but gone, with less than 2% of rental units still in the program. Rent stabilization is a much bigger program that limits rent increases. That program has about 45% of rental units in it. Though it is worth noting that in many parts of the outer boros the market rent is less than the legally mandated rent stabilized rent, and so rent stabilization…

>"In NYC rent control refers to a program that freezes rents"

This is not actually correct. Your rent in a rent controlled or rent stabilized apartment is still subject to increases in rent but there are guidelines on how much those increases can be.

Re: Study: carpooling apps could reduce traffic 3x in NYC

#147

Post by Thlom »

ced wrote: post #138
hobbyjogger wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, people tend to overlook the role climate plays in these comparisons. There's an enormous difference in cycling's viability as a primary means of transportation in a place like the Netherlands where average high temperatures rarely exceed 75, as opposed to Texas where a typical summer will have a prolonged period of temps in the 90s and multiple 100+ days. The average high temperature in Amsterdam's warmest two…

Heat isn't the only issue. From Wikipedia for the Netherlands: Ice days (maximum temperature below 0 °C (32 °F)) usually occur from December until February, with the occasional rare ice day prior to or after that period. Freezing days (minimum temperature below 0 °C (32 °F)) occur much more often, usually ranging from mid-November to late March, but not rarely measured as early as mid-October and as late as mid-May.…

If everyone cycling in the netherlands would take public transport or drive when it's cold/snows/rains the roads would be in constant gridlock and public transit would collapse.

Re: Study: carpooling apps could reduce traffic 3x in NYC

#148

Post by my_username_is_ »

1_2__3 wrote: post #119
awjr wrote: post #58

I find the focus on congestion within the transport space to be perplexing. I'm guessing it is to do with the visibility of congestion. Waze recently did a survey and identified the Netherlands as the best place to drive ( https://www.waze.com/driverindex ). The Netherlands is also the only western country with a negative obesity trend expected to hit 8% by 2030, currently at 10% vs the UK's 25%. The USA I believe is…

I think at some point you are going to have to accept the fact that no, cars are not going to go away in the US. You can crow all you want about how much better mass transportation is but you're arguing for the benefit of society to the detriment to the individual, something that will never fly in the American ethos. Biven that all the near-term technological improvements like AR systems, electric/non-internal-combus…

The bicycle infrastructure that is mentioned in the parent comment would go a lot further to helping many Americans towards a more active lifestyle (and do so in a fairly cost-effective way). Combining ridesharing with mass transit isn't changing the fact that someone would be sitting down for an hour or more of their day that they could have spent moving under their own power. The change that the parent comment is advocating for would aim to get people off their butts and using their legs.

Re: Study: carpooling apps could reduce traffic 3x in NYC

#149

Post by my_username_is_ »

BlackjackCF wrote: post #89
awjr wrote: post #58

I find the focus on congestion within the transport space to be perplexing. I'm guessing it is to do with the visibility of congestion. Waze recently did a survey and identified the Netherlands as the best place to drive ( https://www.waze.com/driverindex ). The Netherlands is also the only western country with a negative obesity trend expected to hit 8% by 2030, currently at 10% vs the UK's 25%. The USA I believe is…

Unfortunately, it's not an easy problem to solve. I live in LA and I have to drive to work because there's just not simply a viable alternative to where I have to commute to (West Adams area to West Hollywood.) The bike lanes across LA are spotty at best and there's a good chance you're going to get hit/brushed by a car because the closer you get to Beverly Hills/West Hollywood, the more impatient/asshole-ish drivers…

Surely the city could find a series of roads that could be made into one-way streets, and have segregated bike lanes on the other side?

Re: Study: carpooling apps could reduce traffic 3x in NYC

#150

Post by linkregister »

ced wrote: post #138
hobbyjogger wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, people tend to overlook the role climate plays in these comparisons. There's an enormous difference in cycling's viability as a primary means of transportation in a place like the Netherlands where average high temperatures rarely exceed 75, as opposed to Texas where a typical summer will have a prolonged period of temps in the 90s and multiple 100+ days. The average high temperature in Amsterdam's warmest two…

Heat isn't the only issue. From Wikipedia for the Netherlands: Ice days (maximum temperature below 0 °C (32 °F)) usually occur from December until February, with the occasional rare ice day prior to or after that period. Freezing days (minimum temperature below 0 °C (32 °F)) occur much more often, usually ranging from mid-November to late March, but not rarely measured as early as mid-October and as late as mid-May.…

Bike paths and roads are diligently cleared/salted in the Netherlands. So many people rely on bike paths to get to work or their train that I doubt ride sharing or taxis could handle the load.
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