Pandemic throws New Yorkers into second-hand cars: fleeing public transportation

New Yorkers are trying to escape public transportation to avoid catching the coronavirus and have been buying cars, boosting the second-hand car market, discouraging hopes of reducing traffic in the Big Apple.Julien Genestoux, The 35-year-old never had a car of his own when he lived in Lyon, Rome and San Francisco. And in the five years he’s spent in New York, he hasn’t had one either. “Using a car in the city is a nightmare,” the man told AFP. “There are traffic jams, you spend hours looking for a place to park.” ‘For me it was not practical at all. But unfortunately here it has become necessary. ”A weeks ago, Genestoux, who has three children, finally dared to buy a used family car on a website. This has allowed his family to escape from New York at a time when virtually all of its cultural activities are closed. “Living in New York when you can’t do anything, you have to go abroad,” said the technology entrepreneur. Genestoux traded weekends in Central Park for trips to Rockaway Beach. And he is not the only one who has bought his own car. He was the last of his group of friends to do so.None of them had owned a vehicle before the pandemic. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which tracks US price trends, reached an all-time high of 163. 7 in August, down from 141.3 a year ago.At the beginning of June, second-hand car dealer Chris Stylianou was about to completely empty its stock, something that in its 30 years of existence it hadn’t even come close to get. “A car that I bought for $ 5,000 two years ago, I ended up paying for it now at $ 5,500.Same car, same model, same condition, ”said Stylianou, owner of Major Auto Show in Brooklyn. “People are buying just to avoid public transportation,” he added. Rudy Blocker, a used car salesman at A Class Auto Sales, also in Brookyn, believes the increase in sales was driven by weekly checks for $ 600 that The government gave the unemployed until the end of July to help stimulate the economy. “People have a little money and it burns in their pockets,” he said. New car sales did not skyrocket, however. Although they have risen since June, they are still significantly below 2019 for all major manufacturers. “With an installment contract, you would have to commit to three years,” said epidemiologist Magdalena Cerda, who bought a BMW truck for $ 35,000. “When you buy a new car, you lose a lot of money as soon as you get it out of the parking lot. It seemed like a better investment to buy a used car, “he added. Cerda, mother of a seven-year-old girl, wanted only a temporary solution because she hopes that New York City will return to normal and be able to use the subway safely again. . “Everyone hopes this is temporary,” Genestoux added. «They are different people (from before). It’s people who work around here, ”said Fernando Bajana, manager of the GGMC Seven Eleven parking lot in Midtown, Manhattan. “They used to get to work using public transportation but now they’re scared to do it.” Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit organization to get cars off the streets of New York, revealed in September that with most New Yorkers working from home , “Traffic is down only 9% compared to last year.”The group warned that without action, the city could become a “collapsed ‘carmageddon,’ choked by exhaust pipes and full of crashes.” Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has proclaimed himself a leader against pollution, has not yet no plan designed to prevent this phenomenon caused by the pandemic. The plan he presented to fight car congestion ahead of the pandemic scheduled for January 2021 has been postponed, at least, until the end of next year. “If today people buy cars, I think that shows that there is also a failure of public transport policies in the city,” Genestoux said.