Time series line graph. The y-axis is the number of entries into Manhattan's Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ), labels have a minimum of 0 and maximum of 5,000. The x-axis represents the Time of Day, the labels start with 0 and increase to the right, with a maximum of 21. There are two shaded areas in the morning and evening time. There are also two dotted, vertical lines at 5AM and 9PM. A single blue line plots the number of vehicles per 10 minute increment. Two red arrows point out distinct changes in the number of vehicles just before 5AM and at 9PM.
Congestion Relief Zone Entries by Time of Day (emphasis mine). Credit: MTA

Details about the the number of vehicles entering the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ) are available on the MTA’s Metrics Page and New York State’s Open Data site. I can’t wait to see the sorts of interesting data visualizations people will create with this data.

In The most detailed view of NYC traffic (so far), the MTA Data Analytics team describes how this data is collected, and points out some of the emerging patterns. One of those patterns is very clear in the chart above with notable spikes before and after peak pricing time.

I can understand that some people will enter the CRZ a little earlier or later to reduce their toll. However, it’s interesting how steep the spikes are, especially in the evening. Are there people lined up just before 9PM, waiting to cross into the zone? I also wonder if people are speeding to get in under that wire at 4:59AM.

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