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

Andy Byford’s ‘Trump Card’ On Penn Station Keeps Wrecking New York’s Infrastructure Projects

What will become of the Amtrak executive's plans for Penn Station under President Trump?

February 6, 2026

FLASHBACK: What Happened To Car-Free ‘Snow Routes’ — And Could They Have Helped City Clear the Streets?

Remember those bright red signs that banned parking from snow emergency routes? Here is the curious story of how New York City abandoned a key component of its snow removal system.

February 6, 2026

Council Transportation Chair Vows To Take On Drivers: ‘I Don’t Want To Just Futz Around the Edges’

Streetsblog grilled new chairman Shaun Abreu, who says he wants to bring more life and fewer cars to the street.

February 6, 2026

Friday’s Headlines: New York’s Strongest Edition

It's still snow problem around town. Plus other news.

February 6, 2026

Budget Crunch: Advocates Push Mamdani For Massive Fair Fares Expansion

The expansion would offer free transit on the subway and bus for people making up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level, which is not a lot.

February 5, 2026
See all posts