Skip to main content

Cubic and Mastercard study shows impact of New York’s car free day

Following a request from New York City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez to measure the impact of Car Free Day NYC held in April, Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) and Mastercard have now published their report about transportation demand and retail impact assessment resulting from the initiative. Rodriguez organised the initiative with a strong coalition of local support towards the goal of reducing single-occupancy vehicle use and stimulating dialogue around environmental issues. The assessment leveraged
November 17, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Following a request from New York City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez to measure the impact of Car Free Day NYC held in April, 378 Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) and 1756 Mastercard have now published their report about transportation demand and retail impact assessment resulting from the initiative.

Rodriguez organised the initiative with a strong coalition of local support towards the goal of reducing single-occupancy vehicle use and stimulating dialogue around environmental issues.

The assessment leveraged the Urbanomics Mobility Project, a Cubic-Mastercard co-developed data analysis toolset for fuelling smarter and more inclusive cities, based on public transportation data and insights derived from anonymised and aggregated transaction data.

Specific objectives of Councilman Rodriguez’s request included measuring changes in public transportation demand, traveller spend behaviour around car-free zones and the impact of redistributed traffic on business areas in proximity to car-free zones.

The one-day event resulted in an increase of more than 30,000 passengers than the season’s daily average on the MTA subway, while public data for other services like bike share also showed a statistically significant increase in usage.

For retail stores, there were no significant adverse effects on commercial activity in the surrounding areas, despite road closures created to facilitate and support the spirit of the event.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Watch your step: the sidewalk robots are here
    March 14, 2023
    The way we order and pay for goods has changed radically – but what about how those goods are delivered? Gordon Feller looks at how sidewalk robots might reshape the urban landscape
  • Dubai’s Salik toll system wins International Toll Excellence Award
    September 16, 2014
    The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has awarded the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai the prestigious 2014 Toll Excellence Award in Technology for its expansion of the Salik toll system, implemented by TransCore. The award was presented at IBTTA’s 82nd annual meeting in Austin, Texas. Already home to the world’s widest open-road tolling zone spanning seven lanes in a single direction, RTA’s objectives were to reduce growing traffic congestion, encourage use of alte
  • How intelligent video security supports smart mobility
    April 1, 2021
    The ease of getting from point A to point B, the effective movement of goods and services, and the flexibility and integration of various modes of transportation are key aspects of mobility today. Jayden Xu, senior manager, ITS Solutions, at Hikvision, details the role of intelligent video security technology for improved traffic management
  • Level of MaaS provides step-by-step roadmap to integrated transport
    August 22, 2018
    Transportation consultant Jack Opiola considers how a ‘Levels of MaaS’ approach - along with the concept of ‘co-opetition’ and increasing public acceptance - can smooth the journey to a future with more sustainable mobility The premise of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is simple: the seamless, infinitely adaptable delivery of mobility, together with associated information, ticketing, and payment services, across all modes of transport. All of this is in near-real time - or predictively, wirelessly, securely