If you live in a large city around the United States, you’re no stranger to traffic congestion. Daily commutes can be stressful, especially when you’re further delayed by work zones and accidents. Morning and evening rush hour backups have become a way of life for millions of Americans, whether it’s traveling by car, truck or bus. But have you ever wondered how your city’s traffic congestion ranks in comparison to other metro areas? Thanks to a recent study by INRIX, that “guessing game” is now over.
Who is INRIX?
INRIX is a global leader in transportation analytics and connected car services. In other words, they collect, analyze and then provide information to customers about how people travel around the world on-a-daily-basis. In March of this year, INRIX published a report called the 2019 Global Traffic Scoreboard. The data contained within that study was collected anonymously from various sources, including cars, smartphones, trucks and traffic control systems.
INRIX looked at traffic patterns, the average length of delays, lost productivity and daily travel times for commuters in 100s of U.S. cities. Based on that information, INRIX was able to rank each metro area based on traffic congestion severity. In addition to motorists, they also included daily commuters who use bicycles or public transportation.
These U.S. Cities are Commuting Nightmares
Wichita, Kansas, had the lowest traffic congestion score in the country, with commuters on average only losing about two hours of annual productivity. Unfortunately, if you commute to another city, lengthy traffic delays are costing you significant time and income every year.
According to INRIX, these are the top 10 most-congested U.S. cities for commuters, starting with the worst:
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Philadelphia, PA
- New York City, NY
- Washington, DC
- Los Angeles, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- Portland, OR
- Baltimore, MD
- Atlanta, GA
For example, the average commuter in Boston loses 149 hours per year while stuck in traffic, which ends up costing them roughly $2,205 in lost income. The estimated economic impact nationwide is over $88 billion.
Worst U.S. Corridors for Commuters
INRIX also analyzed congestion data for specific roadways. Surprisingly, a few of the U.S. cities that didn’t rank the highest overall for congestion still had individual roadways that did. These were the worst traffic corridors for motorists in 2019:
- I-5 in Los Angeles, CA
- US-101 in Los Angeles, CA
- Brooklyn Queens Expressway in New York City
- I-95 in New York City
- I-85/I-75 in Atlanta, GA
- I-35 in Austin, TX
- I-275 in Tampa, FL
- I-290 in Chicago, IL
- I-405 in Los Angeles, CA
- I-90/I-94 in Chicago, IL
For instance, the average commuter in L.A. loses up to 80 hours of productivity per year when traveling on I-5 between the I-10 and I-605 interchanges.
What’s the Solution?
The transportation experts at INRIX point out that access to reliable data is the first step in tackling the congestion problem. When it comes to solving urban mobility challenges, creating more intelligent transportation systems is vital.
They further recommend that city planners and engineers do a better job of prioritizing transportation spending with respect to traffic flow, parking and population movement. Unfortunately, the operating budgets of many large metropolitan areas highlighted in this report are already stretched to the breaking point.
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