By: Rusty Brooks
NYC is still seeing less driving than before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest data, according to the NY Post
“For a typical driver, they’re still seeing congestion — much more than they saw two or three months ago, but not as much as last year,” said INRIX transportation analyst Bob Pishue.
“As of right now, drivers are enjoying a much less congested New York City.”
NYC is expected to see an increase in drivers, referred to as “Car-mageddon”, as NYC workers are more are open to driving to work and avoiding the collapsing MTA. City leadership are heavily against driving and many including the Mayor refer to “driving as a thing of the past”, which is absurd considering the MTA has slashed service, and is threatening to slash service and shut down entire train lines, if they can’t not secure funding, to help plug their giant financial deficit.
New Yorkers and commuters are obviously not taking well with the cities’ push to limit driving.
NY Post reported: “Car-mageddon is not happening yet because none of the major employers are really requiring people to be back in the office right now,” Tri-State Transportation Campaign director Nick Sifuentes warned.
“Even a fraction of people deciding not to take transit when our offices come back will gridlock out streets,” he said.
Pishue agreed the situation could take a very quick turn for the worse.
“Each car that’s added on the road has a much bigger impact than the car before it. It can catch up rapidly,” he said.
“If one car is on a roadway and you add another, not a big deal. If there are a thousand cars on a roadway and you add one more, that’s a much bigger deal.”
Due to the pandemic there are still far less people on the road, car mileage remains well below February levels in all five boroughs, according to the data firm INRIX. Manhattan say the largest drop off of drivers.
NYC car mileage remains well below February levels in all five boroughs, according to the data firm INRIX.
Manhattan has seen the steepest drop-off compared to 2019, at less than half pre-pandemic levels during the week of Aug. 22-28.
Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, meanwhile, saw around 70 percent pre-COVID driving rates during the same week. Staten Island’s rates hovered around 80 percent.
