CARS.COM — Is mobility the price of upward mobility? According to the latest analysis of traffic congestion on U.S. roads, bringing home the bacon and having the highway hog your spare time go hand in hoof.
Related: Survey: Commuters' 'Sentence' Gets Longer, Costlier
American commuters in 2015 spent a combined 8 billion hours — 50 hours per driver — traveling to and from work, which traffic-data analysts at Kirkland, Wash.-based INRIX attributed to reduced unemployment. Among the top 10 most-congested commutes, half of the cities' unemployment rates had dipped below the national average of 5.3 percent.
"The report reveals the U.S. faces large challenges to solve congestion issues fueled by continued economic and population growth, higher employment rates and declining gas prices," INRIX said in a statement. "Cities that have experienced the most economic improvement during the past year are at highest risk for consequences related to worsened traffic conditions, including reduced productivity, higher emissions and increased stress levels."
The top 10 cities with the worst commuter congestion, according to the INRIX 2015 Traffic Scorecard, are:
1. Los Angeles, 81 hours in traffic
2. Washington, D.C., 75 hours
3. San Francisco, 75 hours
4. Houston, 74 hours
5. New York, 73 hours
6. Seattle, 66 hours
7. Boston, 64 hours
8. Chicago, 60 hours
9. Atlanta, 59 hours
10. Honolulu, 49 hours
Compare those figures to 2013, when the U.S. was still climbing out of the economic recession and unemployment was at 6.7 percent. That year, the average driver wasted 47 hours commuting.
Los Angeles was still at No. 1 two years ago, but with only 64 hours lost to traffic compared with 81 in 2015, a nearly 27 percent spike. Washington, D.C., went from No. 10 in 2013 with 40 hours to No. 2 last year with 75 hours, a nearly 88 percent increase. San Francisco, placing at No. 3 both years, increased by 19 hours to 75, a 34 percent upsurge. New York, at No. 5 both years, saw its commute rise 20 hours to 73 between 2013 and 2015, a 38 percent increase. Seattle and Boston, rising to Nos. 6 and 7 from 8 and 9, respectively, increased by 78 percent and 68 percent.
Meanwhile, Chicago, the nation's third-largest city, rose to No. 8 in 2015 with a 60-hour commute after not having made the top 10 in 2013.
"Although cities have invested in multimodal options, including public transportation, pedestrian programs and bicycle lanes, a strong economy often results in more drivers on the road," INRIX stated.
from Cars.com News http://ift.tt/1VBgGey
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