Is Chicago the most similar city to New York city in the US?

Question related to the big number of New York City's and Chicago's yellow taxicabs?

• First of all, my question is a two-part one. I read that as of 2009, there are 6,999 yellow taxicabs in Chicago (the second biggest number of yellow taxicabs in the U.S) and 13,237 yellow taxicabs in New York City (the biggest number of yellow taxicabs in the U.S), which includes the 5 boroughs. Recently, I asked about why more taxicabs patrol the streets of Manhattan than in the other NYC boroughs, and I was given many reasons why here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtmAYUVRmtPSCV9taq1hL9Tsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20110819135851AAJ6Y9s My first question is: Would I be correct to deduce, that if I apply many of the answers that I was given on my previous question, that much of Chicago’s taxicabs 6,999 yellow taxicabs would be concentrated in The Loop? On the other hand, here are some facts that I found. Manhattan, where much of the big businesses and corporations are in New York City, has about 1.6 million people whereas The Loop, where much of the big businesses and corporations are in Chicago, has only 16,388 people. In Manhattan, about 75% of the people don’t own a car whereas in Chicago as a whole, it’s 28.85%, which still exceeds the national average of people who don’t own a car. In Manhattan, the population density is 66,940.1 people per square mile whereas in the Chicago Loop, it’s 10,377.7 people per square mile and 11,864.4 per square mile in the city as a whole. My other question that follows is: What are some similarities and differences in why Chicago has so many yellow taxicabs as to why Manhattan has so many of them?

• Answer:

  To answer your first question, yes, most of Chicago's taxicabs can be found in the Loop. A big number can also be found in the neighborhoods surrounding the Loop and around O'Hare Airport. Even though the Loop doesn't have many residents, it does have a large number of people who work there or just pass through the Loop to get to other parts of the city. The Loop is also the main destination for tourists since there is so much to do in the area. The neighborhoods around the Loop, such as the South Loop, West Loop, Lincoln Park, and Streeterville, also have many residents, people commuting to work, and tourists. And since O'Hare is one of the biggest airports in the world, there is naturally going to be a large number of people commuting from there to downtown and the local hotels and convention centers in Rosemont. To answer your second question, I guess that both downtown Chicago and Manhattan just each have many people who work there, tourists, and commuters. The reason why New York has over 13,000 taxicabs (almost twice as many as Chicago) is becuase of the 1.6 million people that live in Manhattan compared to the 16,000 in Chicago, as you mentioned. Hope this helped.