The economy slowed, and single-occupant cars were barred from entering Manhattan.

The comments of those who have given up driving to their jobs alone indicate that alternatives to single-occupant cars are not only viable but in some cases preferable.

Metropool officials say those pools have eliminated enough single-occupant cars to fill three lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic eight miles long.

The goal, he said, is to reduce the single-occupant cars to 40 percent by 1991.

Imagine being told a month ago that the police would prevent single-occupant cars from crossing into Midtown or Lower Manhattan on weekday mornings.

The summit also promoted getting some single-occupant cars off the road and increasing mass-transit use beyond the current 4 percent.

The city announced yesterday that the morning ban on single-occupant cars crossing into parts of Manhattan would remain through the spring.

But after the Sept. 11 attack and the morning ban on single-occupant cars at several bridges and tunnels, even that increase was not enough.

But when he banned single-occupant cars from entering Lower Manhattan a couple of weeks later, he not only averted a colossal traffic jam.

And most commuters, particularly those who work at suburban office parks, still find a single-occupant car more convenient than a train or bus.