With the above chart and these comments in mind, here’s some food for thought from the PlaNYC Transportation chapter:

• Only 4.6% of working New Yorkers commute to Manhattan by car.
• The vast majority of trips made in New York are not to Manhattan; even among commuters, nearly twice as many outer borough residents work outside of Manhattan as inside — 1.56 million versus 841,000.
• Cars and trucks contribute 20% of the City’s global warming emissions and a large part of the ozone — a serious pollutant that can cause respiratory illnesses like asthma — in our air.
• New York City has the highest bus ridership in the United States, but the slowest buses. As the city grows and vehicles compete for the same road, buses operate at even slower speeds. Between 2002-06 alone, bus speeds across the city slowed by 4%.
• Over the last 30 years, even significant improvements in our subway system have not substantially changed the way New Yorkers get to Manhattan. Despite enhancements in safety, efficiency, and aesthetics, the percentage of drivers has remained essentially unchanged.