This would yield major environmental benefits, also help people save money

Mar 26, 2014 13:01 GMT  ·  By
Cab sharing can yield noteworthy benefits, especially in major urban areas, study finds
   Cab sharing can yield noteworthy benefits, especially in major urban areas, study finds

A team of researchers has recently determined that, simply by having people share cabs, it could be possible to considerably reduce the number of taxi trips carried out in an urban area in a given time frame.

Consequently, traffic-related emissions would also be reduced, and people would find themselves spending less money on transportation. Yale Environment details that the specialists who worked on this research project concerning how ride-sharing can influence traffic analyzed a series of interactive maps developed by MIT.

The maps in questione focused on New York City, the same source details. Specifically, they were pieced together using information about taxi trips carried out in this urban area back in 2011.

All in all, the folks who made the maps used data concerning some 170 million trips undertaken by approximately 13,500 taxis operating in New York City.

Thanks to this information, specialists were able to pin down the areas where most pick-ups and drop-offs took place, and identify the routes most traveled on.

HubCab is an interactive visualization that invites you to explore the ways in which over 170 million taxi trips connect the City of New York in a given year,” the researchers explain.

“HubCab allows to investigate exactly how and when taxis pick up or drop off individuals and to identify zones of condensed pickup and dropoff activities.”

“It allows you to navigate to the places where your taxi trips start and end and to discover how many other people in your area follow the same travel patterns,” they go on to detail.

Based on information obtained in this innovative manner, it was discovered that something as simple as ride-sharing has the potential to cut the number of taxi trips carried out in New York City on a yearly basis by about 40%.

This would help curb traffic-related emissions, and thus reduce threats to public health. Besides, odds are that congestion would also be reduced, and people would find themselves saving precious time while traveling from one part of the city to another.

Needless to say, ride-sharing would also enable people to save money without having to change their daily routine all that much. Besides, such an initiative would help folks come in contact with one another.

Although the MIT interactive maps focus on New York City, specialists argue that there is no reason why this technology could not be used to analyze taxi trips in other major urban areas, and determine how ride-sharing would influence traffic conditions in these regions.

Check out the video below to learn more about HubCab, and share your thoughts in the comments section below.