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Comment by maxaf | Hacker News Reader

I wish I could upvote you twice!

I’m one of the minority of Manhattan residents who use a private car instead of transit. My schedule and routes are unusual enough that transit doesn’t serve me. Even when doing a more traditional UWS->Financial District commute, I often prefer to drive because of the knock-on benefits: I can shop at Eataly and bring home some goodies for the family; I can make stops at a few stores along the way that would otherwise be too far from the standard subway commute route. I don’t enjoy sitting in traffic, but it’s so much easier for me than any other alternative. I pick my travel times to minimize delays for myself (and presumably others) and I’m tired of being labeled an entitled snob, an idiot, or a murderer of cyclists.

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Indeed. I'm a west coast resident, and I've only visited NYC a handful of times, but last time I was there with my family, I rode cabs about as much as subway: in my limited experience, subway in Manhattan works well if you're moving on north-south axis, but not so well on east-west axis. When you're going east-west in Manhattan, you have to spend 15-20 minutes walking more often than not, which is usually not that bad, unless it's 95 degrees outside, and your children are miserable: spending 20 minutes in air conditioned cab then is much preferrable to spending 15 minutes walking in that circumstance. In that scenario, cabs also win often with subway, especially on short routes, since you can move 4 people with a single cab fare, while you have to pay 4 times the fare when you take the subway.

> I can make stops at a few stores along the way that would otherwise be too far from the standard subway commute route.

Where are you stopping between UWS and FiDi that has convenient parking?

There are metered parking zones all over Manhattan. Many are commercial-only during the day, but revert to regular meters after a certain hour. There are copious bus lanes on many major thoroughfares, which are legal to park in outside of peak commuting hours. In some areas the street sweeper dance starts the evening before, leaving many spots unoccupied after drivers have absconded in search of parking spaces that won’t see a sweeper while the drivers are at work the next day.

I use all of these hacks and more to make it possible to zip around town in a personal car.

I attended a Seder on upper Park Ave, Manhattan, which had 3 people who used cars, including the rabbi who lives in Manhattan. One party was a visitor from out of town. The streets do look like rivers of cabs but I spot private cars and not all of those have ride share stickers.

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