It's unfortunate that the 8th Avenue bike lane will not pass Piano's new Times building. I assume that they didn't put a lane there due to the congestion and existing taxi lanes in front of the PABT. That is somewhat understandable, but it seems like a part of the city that could really use a dedicated lane for safety reasons.

By Anonymous, at 4/23/2006 11:42 PM  

Agreed on both points. I'm sure it is due to the Port Authority taxi mayhem, and you're right. That's a confusing spot to be on a bike. The lane would be great there too.

By AD, at 4/24/2006 12:42 AM  

Yeah, it sucks to not have a bike lane continuously through - but that is a crazy taxi location. Perhaps they should have a bike detour lane? LOL.

I've always thought that taxi stands are a relatively efficient way of having taxis and their riders find each other, instead of the endless circling and desparate attempts to flag them down which if successful result in a taxi cutting over 4 lanes of traffic. While it's great to be able to walk out your door and flag down a taxi, it would also be great to have many more dedicated stands. Then they could also combine trips if the passengers agree.

By peakguy, at 4/24/2006 12:24 PM  

Taxi stands are a really efficient way for passengers and taxis to find each other. That's a great point. But I'm not sure the drivers feel that way. Basically they replace driving around with waiting in a line. I'm not sure which takes longer, but there's still a time delay. It's certainly better to wait standing still than wait and drive around. They've only been accepted in front of major rail and bus terminals, airports, and a few select locations on the Upper East Side as far as I know.

By AD, at 4/25/2006 11:20 PM  

It will be interesting to see if higher fuel prices lead to more taxi stands. When fuel is relatively inexpensive, the drivers would probably rather take their chances driving around looking for a fare. However, driving around empty costs them increasingly more money.

By jpr, at 4/29/2006 9:10 PM