Need a Cab? New Analysis Shows Where to Find One

The most popular corners to catch a yellow cab in Manhattan can now be pinpointed, at any hour of any day of the week, thanks to a record of 90 million actual taxi trips that have been silently tracked by the city.

---

New York Times, MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM, April 2, 2010

It is a question that taxi-seekers in New York often ponder: Is there some kind of secret formula for where to find a cab in this town?

Turns out, there is.

The most popular corners to catch a yellow cab in Manhattan can now be pinpointed, at any hour of any day of the week, thanks to a record of 90 million actual taxi trips that have been silently tracked by the city.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission hopes the information, collected by GPS, can be used to create helpful tie-ins for customers, like a new smartphone program that lets mobile users locate the ideal nearby corner to hail a cab.

But the data also present a grand urban portrait, the first detailed record of a fast-moving, yellow-hued transit network that offers a curbside view of how New Yorkers move around and where they do it.

Read more.