https://www-sciencedirect-com.bmcc.ezproxy.cuny.edu/science/article/pii/S0967070X21000974
The article illustrated how the pandemic impacted our transportation system with particular attention paid to the MTA and Citybike. During Covid, people avoided the subway because of fear of close contact with other individuals and shifted instead to a safer option like bikes, cars or just walking, like illustrated in the following image
Of course, such a movement was also supported by the companies themselves. Citybike, for example, created memberships to encourage the use of bikes, while MTA reduced the capacity of people allowed to be on a train. In conclusion, the article suggests that “the bike-share system provides resilience to the overall transportation system during disasters when public transit is considered dangerous or is disrupted.” (Wang, & Noland, R. B. (2021). Bikeshare and subway ridership changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. Transport Policy, 106, 262–270.)
https://www-sciencedirect-com.bmcc.ezproxy.cuny.edu/science/article/pii/S2210670720300408
This article analyzes the yearly growth of TNC (Transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft) and how it affects traffic congestion in NYC.
These studies noticed that while its growth brought an increase in employment, it made traffic in big cities worse than it was before because even if riders choose the ride-sharing option it attracts more transit riders. Fuel emission/consumption is still at a concerning level.
These two images illustrate how much the increase in TNC is affecting traffic. Manhattan, for example, suffers the most considerable congestion no matter the time of the day. In conclusion, it can be said that “By mining the large-scale trajectory data and conducting the case study in NYC, we confirm that the rise of TNC is the major contributing factor that makes urban traffic congestion worse. From 2017 to 2019, the number of for-hire vehicles (FHV) increased by over 48% and served 90% more daily trips. These resulted in an average citywide speed reduction of 22.5% on weekdays, and the average speed in Manhattan decreased from 11.76 km/h in April 2017 to 9.56 km/h in March 2019.” (Qian, Lei, T., Xue, J., Lei, Z., & Ukkusuri, S. V. (2020). Impact of transportation network companies on urban congestion: Evidence from large-scale trajectory data. Sustainable Cities and Society, 55(C), 102053. )
https://www-sciencedirect-com.bmcc.ezproxy.cuny.edu/science/article/pii/S0968090X20308494
The provided article creates a solution for balancing the heavy traffic in NYC. The main idea is that “connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) can drive closer to each other to enhance link capacity. Thereby, they have great potential to mitigate traffic congestion.” (Wang, Lu, L., Peeta, S., & He, Z. (2021). Optimal toll design problems under mixed traffic flow of human-driven vehicles and connected and autonomous vehicles. Transportation Research. Part C, Emerging Technologies, 125, 102952–.) The problem is that while HDVs still are driven on the streets, the effectiveness of such solutions is very limited. The authors suggest detailed calculated tool rates for HDVs in AVT links to maximize the network performance and also formulate an equivalent fixed demand-based MTA model
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1549-0831.2009.00003.x
This article analyzes how highway expansion impacts the population living in big cities. The author(s) focuses on the Wisconsin state but claims that such a study may be applied to any major city. The research suggests that highway expansion have” only indirect effects in rural areas, both direct and indirect effects in suburban areas, and no statistically significant effects in urban areas” (Chi. (2010). Impacts of Highway Expansion on Population Change: An Integrated Spatial Approach. Rural Sociology, 75(1), 58–89.)
Despite the many claims against the continuing expansion of highways, the government is firm about its economic benefit. And, in some parts, they are right. Highways have appeared to have a positive impact on suburban areas because ‘Transportation accessibility is important for population redistribution as well as for local economic growth and development” (Chi. (2010). Impacts of Highway Expansion on Population Change: An Integrated Spatial Approach. Rural Sociology, 75(1), 58–89.) This means that the population migrates not only based on cities with favorable economies but also to neighborhoods with a convenient transportation system that is able to ” easily connect urban and suburban areas and strengthen the process of suburbanization”(Chi. (2010). Impacts of Highway Expansion on Population Change: An Integrated Spatial Approach. Rural Sociology, 75(1), 58–89.)
https://www-sciencedirect-com.bmcc.ezproxy.cuny.edu/science/article/pii/S0169204618308491
This article attempts to analyze the relationship between pedestrian behavior and city- planning (including transportation). After analyzing an extensive amount of data collected by the New York City Department of Transportation, the authors concluded that pedestrian volume in an urban area relies on factors such as walkability, physical activity, traffic safety, and the impacts of new development.
