CONGESTION MANAGEMENT IN NEW YORK CITY: MANAGING WHY PEOPLE DRIVE

The solution of Manhattan's congestion management problem of increasing traffic congestion, increasing air pollution, and decreasing transit ridership requires comprehensive actions to modify regional travel behavior. To this end, a cooperative interagency research effort was conducted using focus groups to solicit the attitudes of automobile users. That effort and the process of which it was a part are presented here. To maximize efforts related to Manhattan's congestion management problem, the Manhattan Central Business District (CBD) Access Group--composed of transportation, environmental, and planning agencies serving the New York City region--was convened. In its behalf, "The Manhattan Auto Use Decision Study" was conducted to identify the reasons travelers use automobiles rather than transit for CBD travel and to solicit suggestions and reactions to proposals for shifting travelers from cars to transit. The insights into travel behavior and market attitudes provide information for developing strategies to reduce vehicular congestion, improve air quality, and increase transit ridership. The study found that automobile travelers have a dichotomy of views about automobile use; commuters are making logical choices; cost may be dominant, but subtle, in influencing mode choice; and a "carrot and stick" may be needed to divert automobile users to transit. Many of the project's findings have been accepted and acted upon, underscoring the validity of the study's results and the relevance of the focus group methodology.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1989/1237/1237-002.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=CONGESTION+MANAGEMENT+IN+NEW+YORK+CITY%3A+MANAGING+WHY+PEOPLE+DRIVE&author=M.+Rossmy&author=S.+Brown&publication_year=1989
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309050014
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1237, Congestion, Land Use, Growth Management, and Transportation Planning. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Rossmy, Michael J
  • Brown, Steven A
• Publication Date: 1989

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 10-17
• Monograph Title: Congestion, land use, growth management, and transportation planning
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1237
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air pollution; Attitudes; Automobile drivers; Central business districts; Commuters; Costs; Decision making; Highway traffic control; Incentives; Market research; Modal shift; Mode choice; Public transit; Ridership; Traffic congestion; Travel behavior
• Geographic Terms: New York (New York)
• Old TRIS Terms: Modal selection
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00495019
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309050014
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Jun 30 1990 12:00AM