Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In

Bruce Schaller's studies continue to give New York City policymakers a much more detailed idea of who commutes into Manhattan's Central Business District each day, where they came from and what they are doing once they get there (PDF file). 

Towards that end, his new Manhattan Institute study, Battling Traffic: What New Yorkers Think About Road Pricing, offers the two maps below. The maps show the number of auto commuters and the percentage of auto commuters who drive into Manhattan's Central Business District from specific census tracts.  

So, for example, check out the Upper East Side. It is responsible for 5,000+ auto commuters into the Manhattan CBD each day, yet the vast majority of those car commuters' neighbors -- 85 percent or more -- find a way to get to work without a car. In other words, the Upper East Side may be a place that is ripe for mode shift. It could be a place where one would expect to find a significant number of commuters who could be moved out of cars and onto transit, bike, ferry or foot if the proper services and incentives were offered (Though, with all of those wealthy people and black limos on the UES, the proper incentive might be helicopter service).   

Number Who Commute by Auto to the Central Business District nyc_auto_commuter_numb.jpg

Percent Who Commute by Auto to the Central Business Districtnyc_auto_commuter_pct.jpg

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Not So Fast! We Rode NYC Ferry with Would-Be Council Speaker Amanda Farías

Council Member Julie Menin claims she has the votes to be the next Speaker, but Bronx Council Member Amanda Farías has shown a lot more interest in livable streets issues.

November 28, 2025

Book Excerpt Special: Jonathan Lethem’s ‘Program’s Progress’

Class struggle. Infirm secondary superheroes. Suicidal sheep. It’s all in Jonathan Lethem's new collection of short stories, "A Different Kind of Tension." Here's one — featuring class struggle with cars!

November 28, 2025

Special Post-Thanksgiving Friday Video: The Positive Economics of Bike Lanes

Some yahoo in Montreal said that whatever bike lanes cost, they're too expensive! Well, no they're not.

November 28, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Curbside Slide Edition

Good-bye, streeteries, we hardly knew ye. Plus other news.

November 28, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: Giving Thanks(ish) Edition

Yes, let's give thanks. But let us also not forget why we're so lucky. Plus other news for your holiday day off.

November 27, 2025

‘Gold Standard’ Open Street Has Two Paths Forward To Become True ‘Paseo Park’

The DOT is contemplating two options for the 1.3 mile-long linear park in Jackson Heights. Which would you choose?

November 26, 2025
See all posts