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:

  Yellow cabs in New York are mainly based in Manhattan because on the average day, there are 4.2 to some times over 5 million people on the island. Many people don't own vehicles which gives taxis a gate way. The only reason you see traffic in Manhattan is because many people drive in from all over the New York metropolitan area to go work shopping, sight see, hang out, visit relatives, restaurants/bars, events, clubs etc. The reason why taxis don't patrol the outer boroughs is because Brooklyn, Staten Island and Queens are suburban styled. This means the majority are people who own vehicles to travel to there destination. And the difference between Chicago and New York yellow cabs is the NY's yellow cabs find more work and are less expensive then Chicago cabbies.