Quinnipiac University has conducted a poll about New York City urban life. Here are some of the transit-related tidbits:
- 58 percent of respondents like the new pedestrian mall on Broadway between Times and Herald Squares.
- 52 percent rate overall subway service as “excellent” or “good,” with 56 percent giving the same rating to city bus service.
- 67 percent are opposed to East River bridge tolls.
- 23 percent of New Yorkers drive to work. [Side note: I personally find this hard to fathom, unless they’re including people who drive in from the suburbs. I don’t even know if 23 percent of New York City residents even own cars. Maybe it’s just me.]
- 64 percent are “not too confident” or “not confident” that the 7 train extension will be completed on schedule.
21 comments
The drive to work figure makes perfect sense – consider people who both live and work in the outer boroughs. I’d venture to say that that accounts for most of it. Also, just FYI, I believe the car ownership figure for all five boroughs is just under half.
It is dismaying that so many are opposed to East River tolls.
“I don’t even know if 23 percent of New York City residents even own cars. Maybe it’s just me.”
Yes it is just you and your Manhattan-centric elitism. You know, there are other boros such as Staten Island, Queens, etc. where people can drive and not be at the MTA’s mercy for everything in their lives.
Hi Van,
I know I’m new here and you guys don’t know much about me, but I just wanted to let you know that I live in Brooklyn – which was, the last time I checked, included as a “non-Manhattan borough.”
Best,
Lilit
Yes, at the same time you probably live in a part of Brooklyn with good mass transit service. I use mass transit myself, but it’s not entirely feasible for all people in the outer boroughs, as most transit links are to and from Manhattan.
Jeez Van, bite the head off our guest blogger while you’re at it.
we’re all chablis-drinking, brie-eating, america-hating liberals too, right van?
good for you lilit, you have more patience than i do.
signed,
petey, the guy from manhattan who’s trying to make it on a schoolteacher’s salary but, apparently, is at the mercy of the MTA for everything in his life
When I lived in Queens, I drove my car to the train station. Does that count as “driving to work”? (I would say no.) Was the question phrased as “driving a car to get to work”? (In his case, I would say yes.) That number is really up to interpretation.
As for tolling the East River bridges, the question may also be vague. If the question is simply “Do you want to pay more tolls?”, of course the answer is no. If the question is put in perspective: “Would you rather have East River Bridge tolls or transit service cuts and fare hikes?”, then I’ll bet more respondents would opt for the tolls.
Actually, I take that second part back: in reading the linked Quinnipiac article, the question was “33. In order to limit future fare increases, would you support or oppose placing tolls on the free East River bridges?” They don’t really say much about alternatives though (payroll taxes, taxi surcharges, etc…)
I believe around 50% of households citywide own a car. Of course, if they’re like mine, they barely get used and are just an annoyance to move for street cleaning.
When you consider that the relevant figure for other American cities is typically around 95%, the 23% figure for NYC sounds entirely believable to me.
PS. In my experience being “entirely dependent” on a transit agency has on average been more reliable for me than coworkers who were entirely dependent on their car. Just a thought.
You’re more than correct with the reliability. I live in East Harlem and work in the South Bronx, and usually drive to work daily. On most days, it takes me just under 20 minutes to get to work by car, compared to 40 minutes by train and bus. If I take the train, I can guarantee a 40 minute commute. If I drive, at least a few times a month there’s something that happens along the way; lane closures, garbage trucks, abnormal congestion, etc., and I’m late. Mass transit is so much more reliable.
If you’re wondering though, at the end of the day, I only use my car for work. For anything else, I use mass transit, and even have an unlimited deducted from my paycheck because I use it that often. And I too supported congestion pricing and tolls on East River and Harlem River bridges and was upset not to see it happen.
I find it hard to believe that 67% of New Yorkers oppose bridge tolls. Why would someone who doesn’t own a car oppose a bridge toll on private cars?
Because 95% of people who don’t own a car hope they do some day.
I doubt the 50 percent or so of New Yorkers without a car are really longing for one. I just moved from Detroit, and one of the biggest selling points was the ability to trade my $800/month in car payments, insurance, oil changes and fuel for a $89 metro card. My central Manhattan rent + transportation costs are less than my rent + car in Detroit.
Compared to the rest of the country, getting around NYC is amazingly cheap. They could double metrocard prices and it would still be a steal.
I doubt they make up this much of a proportion, but it might also be taxi riders. You take a cab over a toll bridge and you have to pay it too.
It’s unfortunate that question 33 didn’t also say that tolls would help pay for the capital programs resulting in service improvements, rehabilitation, and expansion. The question might have been answered differently as well.
Well, incredible as the car response may seem to you, the Census says over 29% of New Yorkers like me drive to work every day.
And yes, I can drive every day to work and also love the subway and hope for East River tolls and all of the congestion pricing.
But honestly, when Robert Moses got a hold of this city, he really scuttled the subway in favor of the car.
this is just polling skew in an extreme fashion: registered Ds with a land line who will answer questions from a pollster. and if you think of jobs outside the CBD (mid and lower manhattan and maybe downtown brookyln) then having a car makes much more sense.
Perhaps some of the opposition to East River tolls has to do with respondents having little faith that the new tolls will actually limit mass transit fare increases?
I’ve read a city report looking at the main non-Manhattan job centers – Downtown Brooklyn, the Hub, LIC, Flushing, Jamaica, and JFK – and showing that in the first five, cars have a modal share of about 50%. For JFK, the modal share is much higher, close to 100%.
Conversely, for people who work in Manhattan, rail has a modal share higher than 80% in both the city proper and its east-of-Hudson suburbs. For people who live in New Jersey the rail modal share is 50% due to inconvenient access from Bergen County and capacity constraints.
Alon,
Can you provide a link to the report, if it’s available online? I’ve always wanted to learn more about NYC’s “mini-downtowns.” Thanks!
I can’t find it right now. It’s available online, I know, but I don’t remember what its name is.