1/ Herewith, a rant on ride sharing, traffic, and selective use of statistics to prop up weak reporting.
2/ .@Bruce_Schaller has done a wonderfully thoughtful and detailed analysis of trends in for-hire cars in NYC in this exceptionally readable 27-page report: schallerconsult.com/rideservices/e…
3/ Unfortunately @citylab has taken the most absurd read of the study possible, announcing that we must "Acknowledge that ride-hailing apps are jamming streets worse than ever." citylab.com/transportation…
4/ n.b. throughout: "TNC" is the report's acronym for "Transportation Network Companies", aka Uber, Lyft, et al. "CBD" is "Central Business District", aka all of Manhattan south of 60th.
5/ @Bruce_Schaller offers appropriately sober caveats to his report, such as "the taxi/TNC sector has contributed to the worsening of congestion in the Manhattan CBD. It is difficult to quantify how much of the problem is attributable to these vehicles, however, due to lack of...
6/ ...data on mileage by other types of vehicles (e.g., commercial vehicles, personal autos, etc.)."
7/ IOW, while taxi/TNC rides are up, it's not clear that one can conclude how much those rides contribute to an overall traffic slowdown in Manhattan (a slowdown which does exist, and is well-measured).
8/ Still, @citylab ignores this caveat and makes the bold claim "it’s another group of recent arrivals that bears the brunt of responsibility for the new traffic: Uber, Lyft, Via, and the rest of the ride-hailing bunch."
9/ And @citylab continues on to say "On-demand mobility is transforming New York City streets, and it does not appear to be for the better."
10/ That is, @citylab directly ignores @Bruce_Schaller's caveats and jumps to the conclusion that TNC's are to blame for worsening traffic in Manhattan.
11/ Notably absent from this accusation is any question of where the demand for rides is coming from. Is it because there are fewer people using private vehicles on city streets (and, as a pleasant side effect, reducing demand for parking in the city)?
12/ Is it because the @MTA has allowed the subway to atrophy so terribly that people are resorting to cabs and TNCs instead of subways? (This subway rider certainly thinks so)
13/ Is it because human traffic patterns in the city have evolved in ways that aren't well-served by an ancient public transit system, creating demand for rides to areas too difficult to reach with public transit?
14/ And then there are the factors slowing traffic that might not show up in for-hire ridership at all. Is traffic getting worse because demand for deliveries in Manhattan has gone up, leading to increases in double-parked trucks and all the traffic snarls that result?
15/ Here, @Bruce_Schaller notes: "there are obvious inefficiencies in the use of street space by trucks and commercial vehicles. These vehicles often double-park and may also "block the box" at intersections. Delivery trucks can also be seen using loading zones for the entire...
16/ ...day despite 3-hour time limits."
17/ And what's the traffic impact of the many wonderful pedestrian plazas added to Manhattan in recent years? (aside: please don't ever ever take these away, even if it means all vehicular traffic slows to 1 MPH).
18/ Any of these could be the case, and it's most likely the real answer is a mixture of these and many other factors. But @citylab seems to have an ax to grind with TNCs, and selects only the data that support that viewpoint.
19/ Clearly Manhattan has major street traffic problems. Average traffic speeds in Midtown have dropped 23% since 2010, which has a major economic impact on the city.
20/ But singling out one type of street usage to blame when the data support no such claims is irresponsible reporting at best.
21/ If you've made it this far and want to do one thing to make street traffic in NYC better for everyone, call your city council member and tell them to support congestion pricing in NYC,
22/ and using the revenue to make capital improvements to @NYCTSubway (whether or not @BilldeBlasio is ready for it).
23/ If you want to do two things to make street traffic in NYC better for everyone, go read the full report. It has an excellent analysis of policy options, especially around techniques to increase overall utilization of for-hire cars. schallerconsult.com/rideservices/e…
24/ If you're up for more geektastic traffic and statistics fun, I'll close with my favorite tidbit from the report:
25/ The period of the day that shows the largest increase in for-hire rides is the 4pm-6pm window, with a 50% increase in total trips since 2013 and a 68% increase in mileage.
26/ This corresponds to the time of day that is notorious for its lack of yellow cab availability, covered by @ThrillistNYC in 2015: thrillist.com/news/new-york/…
28/ IOW, people looking to get a ride during the afternoon rush are likely much better served because of TNCs than they were when we only had yellow cabs.
