These Are The Cities Where Motorists Lose The Most Time And Money Sitting In Traffic

Like a great many aspects of American life that were impacted by the pandemic, traffic congestion is returning to normalcy. According to the transportation analytics firm INRIX, the average American motorist spent 51 hours sitting in traffic last year, which is 15 hours more than it was in 2021, though it remains 50 percent lower than the pre-pandemic high of 99 hours recorded in 2019.

That’s according to the company’s annual Global Traffic Scorecard, which identifies and ranks congestion and mobility trends in more than 1,000 cities, across 50 countries.

On average, traffic delays in the U.S. remained below pre-pandemic levels in over 60 percent of urban areas, though there were some noteworthy increases. For example, motorists in the Miami metro area saw their traffic times swell by a whopping 30 percent over what they were before COVID had them sheltering at home.

INRIX found that those taking to the highways in Chicago lost the most time to congestion last year at an average 155 hours, which is only an hour less than commuters experienced in London, which has the distinction of having the worst traffic among major world cities studied.

We’re counting down the 10 worst major U.S. and world cities for traffic congestion below.

“2022 was shaping up to be a year of re-emergence and a return to a new, post-pandemic behavioral norm, but that halted with the rise in oil prices, supply chain disruptions, and inflation,” says Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX. “However, we have yet to fully rebound to pre-pandemic levels, and while we do anticipate a gradual increase over the coming years, we may see a small decline in 2023 should a global recession strongly take hold.”

And it’s not just time being wasted while going nowhere on a clogged throughfare. INRIX determined that higher fuel prices and inflation on top of added congestion cost the average commuter $869 last year, which is up from $305 the year before. In total, traffic jams cost U.S. drivers more than $81 billion during 2022.

Alone, higher fuel costs cost the average driver an extra $129 during 2022, which rose to around $1,325 on the year, as gas prices shot up by 49 percent to a national average of $4.76 per gallon in June, before backpedaling to $3.25 in December. Those taking to the roads in and around Los Angeles should not be surprised to find out that with gas prices well topping $6.00 last summer in California, their average annual fuel costs jumped by the most in the nation last year at around an additional $350 per vehicle.

INRIX also notes that travel from outlying to downtown areas increased last year with more Americans returning to the office during the day, and entertainment/dining opportunities in the evening. Washington, D.C. saw the biggest rise in city center trips last year at a 23 percent increase over 2021 levels, followed by Charlotte (19%), Detroit (18%), New York (17%) and San Diego (17%). Not all metro areas saw increases, however, with most still below pre-COVID levels.

Among individual roadways, INRIX says that drivers traversing I-95 through Stamford, CT suffered the most congestion in the country, with the 30-mile corridor taking an average extra 34.5 minutes per day in the morning rush hour and a half hour in the evening heading out. At 240 work days on the calendar, those drivers would have wasted an average 246 hours during 2022.

Other traffic nightmares occur most frequently on I-5 in Los Angeles, I-93 in Boston, and I-278 in New York.

Here’s a look at the 10 worst U.S. cities for traffic congestion, according to the 2022 INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard, how they fared compared to pre-COVID data, and the average cost per driver in terms of time spent and gas wasted:

1. Chicago, IL: 155 hours delayed (+7%); $2,618
2. Boston, MA: 134 hours delayed (-10%); $2,270
3. New York, NY: 117 hours delayed (-16%); $1,976
4. Philadelphia, PA: 114 hours delayed (-20%); $1,925
5. Miami, FL: 105 hours delayed (+30%); $1,773
6. San Francisco, CA: 97 hours delayed (0%); $1,642
7. Los Angeles, CA: 95 hours delayed (-8%); $1,601
8. Washington, D.C.: 83 hours delayed (-33%); $1,642
9. Houston, TX: 74 hours delayed (-9%); $1,257
10. Atlanta, GA: 74 hours wasted (-10%); $1,257

And here’s INRIX’s list of the major metro areas facing the worst tie-ups on the planet and how they compared last year to 2019 levels:

1. London, UK: 156 hours delayed (+5%)
2. Chicago, USA: 155 hours delayed (+7%)
3. Paris, France: 138 hours delayed (-1%)
4. Boston, USA: 134 hours delayed (-10%)
5. Bogota, Columbia: 122 hours delayed (-36%)
6. Palermo, Italy: 121 hours delayed (-12%)
7. Toronto, Canada: 118 hours delayed (-13%)
8. New York City, USA: 117 hours delayed (-16%)
9. Philadelphia, USA: 114 hours delayed (-20%)
10. Miami, USA: 105 hours delayed (+30%)

Source, INRIX. You can read the full report here.