Transportation analytics and connected car service provider INRIX said Americans now lose 99 hours a year due to traffic congestion, costing them nearly $88 billion or an average of $1,377 per year. From 2017 to 2019, INRIX said the average time lost by American drivers has increased by two hours as economic and urban growth continue nationally.
[Above photo of Boston by Sarah Nichols.]
That data – which comes from the firm’s 2019 Global Traffic Scorecard, released on March 9 – also indicated that, for the second consecutive year, Boston ranked as the most congested U.S. city with the average commuter in the metro area losing 149 hours per year to traffic congestion, costing $2,205 per driver in time lost.
Rounding out the top five: Chicago (145 hours lost per driver per year, $2,059 per year per driver lost); Philadelphia (142 hours, $2,016 lost); New York City (140 hours, $1,988 lost); and Washington D.C. (124 hours, $1,761 lost). Also for the second year in a row, Wichita, Kansas, sported the lowest levels of U.S. traffic congestion levels, with drivers losing less than two hours a year.
“Congestion costs Americans billions of dollars each year. However, it appears to be stabilizing in some of the country’s most congested metros – with delays raising roughly three percent nationwide since 2017,” said Trevor Reed, a transportation analyst at INRIX, in a statement.
“The continued innovation and investment in smarter roadway management is showing early signs of progress,” he added, pointing to increased use of public transit and rising active transportation activity.
Nation
AASHTO Comments on USDOT’s National Freight Plan
February 28, 2025
Nation
