Results tagged “bruceschaller”

Something is happening with congestion pricing in Albany, but we're not exactly sure what. It's not put-a-fork-in-it dead yet, but it might be close to it. Or not!

The NY Sun reports that doctors believes less people will suffer "craniofacial injuries" during cab accidents because many new cabs, such as the hybrid taxis, don't have the bullet-proof partitions. Drivers of hybrid cabs, especially luxury ones, have been opting for security cameras. Which could mean less business for plastic surgeons, who say that they see some people with "crushed noses, fractured cheekbones and eye sockets, and 'stellate,' or burst lacerations" after accidents.

Streetsblog has this great map from Bruce Schaller, transportation consultant, that visualizes rush hour traffic between 4PM and 8PM. (The key notes "Average peak direction driving speeds: Red - Under 6 mph; Pink - 6 to 10 mph; Gray - Over 10 mph.)

Newsday has a good article looking at the transportation issues the next governor will deal with - the biggest being the MTA. The MTA, which already announced fare hikes for next year, faces insane budget deficits in the coming years: $905 million in 2008, $1.13 billion in 2009, $1.48 billion in 2010. The Straphangers' Campaign's Gene Russianoff says of the MTA, "They borrowed a ton of money to fix a system, and now the bill is coming due."

- While injury rates are lower for taxi passengers than for occupants of other vehicles, the severity of injury is greater for those passengers who are injured in a taxicab. Low rates of seat belt use and the presence of the safety partition account for this disparity.Definitely buckle up when you're a cab - we know someone sitting in the back of a cab when it was rear ended and her face was seriously bruised and needed plastic surgery. The city's Taxi and Limousine Commission did not ask for the study, but the NY Times reports they were "happy to receive it," with TLC Commissioner Matthew Daus saying, "This is one of the most important studies we've seen."

Schaller Consulting has many other interesting taxi cab resources, including the newly released 2004 Taxi Cab Fact Book (PDF).

Schaller Consulting also has some great studies on taxi usage in New York. And the photo above is from New Yorkish New York in 20 Years photograph series - Day 5 is up and it covers the subways. "