Skip to main content

Inrix ranks U.S. most congested developed country in the world

The U.S. is the most congested developed country in the world, with drivers spending an average of 41 hours a year in traffic during peak hours, costing them nearly $305bn (£220bn) in 2017, an average of $1,445 (£1,042) per driver. The findings come from Inrix’s annual Global Traffic Scorecard, which analysed 1,360 cities across 38 countries. Additionally, the study revealed that the U.S. had three of the top five most congested cities globally, costing an economic drain upwards of $2.5bn (£1.8bn). Los
February 7, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

The U.S. is the most congested developed country in the world, with drivers spending an average of 41 hours a year in traffic during peak hours, costing them nearly $305bn (£220bn) in 2017, an average of $1,445 (£1,042) per driver. The findings come from 163 Inrix’s annual Global Traffic Scorecard, which analysed 1,360 cities across 38 countries.

Additionally, the study revealed that the U.S. had three of the top five most congested cities globally, costing an economic drain upwards of $2.5bn (£1.8bn). Los Angeles came first, where drivers spent an average of 102 hours in traffic jams during peak congestion hours, costing them $2,828 (£2,040) each and the city $19.2bn (£13.8bn) from direct and indirect costs. New York came second (tied with Moscow) with 91 hours while San Francisco ranked fifth with 79 hours.

New York businesses suffered the most from congestion with an average of 14% travel time on weekdays in gridlock and where drivers wasted the most daytime hours stuck in traffic in the entire country. Santa Cruz also had the worst overall daytime congestion on arterial and highways with drivers spending 12% of their days sitting in traffic.

Downtown Metro Insights showed El Paso in Texas had the worst slowdowns where free flow speeds dropped from 43mph to 5mph when congested.

Inrix’s In and Out City Insights found that commuters around Everett in Washington spent more time stuck in traffic than anyone else with a rate of 28% on highways.

Weekend Insights revealed that Las Vegas drivers cruised slowest with congestion speeds at 5mph.

For a third consecutive year, the I-95 Cross Bronx Expressway in New York was ranked the worst corridor in the U.S. with the average driver spending 118 hours per year in congestion, an increase of 37% over last year.

A full copy of the report and additional findings are available on the %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external website Inrix website link false http://http//inrix.com/scorecard/ false false%>.

Related Content

  • Dundee launches call for real-world testing of transport technology
    February 8, 2018
    Dundee City Council has launched a call of almost £1m ($1.3m) on behalf of the city’s Mobility Innovation Living Laboratory, which is looking for new products, services and business models that can be trialled using the city as a test-bed. The request is part of a joint venture to create and bring together smart mobility knowledge with a deadline for submissions on the 2 March 2018. Proposals are sought into five lots which include advanced mobility services for the public; advanced fleet services
  • London tops global congestion ranking, says report
    March 15, 2016
    The Inrix Traffic Scorecard 2015, which measures progress in improving urban mobility, reveals strong economic growth and record population levels resulting in London becoming the first city to surpass 100 hours wasted per driver in gridlock. The report analysed traffic congestion in more than 100 cities worldwide. London topped the list, with drivers wasting an average of 101 hours, or more than four days, in gridlock in 2015. Across the UK, drivers spent 30 hours on average in delays last year, consist
  • InDriver launches ride-hailing service in South Africa
    May 30, 2019
    InDriver has launched its ride-hailing service in Johannesburg, South Africa, which allows the driver and rider to negotiate lower fares. A report by IT News Africa says drivers can use the InDriver app to accept or ignore offers as well as negotiate for a higher price. Rifqa Carr, InDriver spokesperson says: “Drivers have the freedom to choose whichever ride request they like, without any risk of being penalised. They’re also able to see the full fare, from point A to point B, and can then decide
  • London has most EV chargers among major global cities, says Spotahome
    July 27, 2018
    London has the most electric vehicle (EV) charging points compared to 89 major global cities, says Spotahome. The home rental company has standardised data available for charging points and awarded the highest index score of 10 to the UK capital. The cities that came after London include Amsterdam (9.63), Rotterdam, (8.73), Berlin, (8.24) and Hamburg (7.2). However, Spotahome rated other cities in the UK such as Manchester in 18th place (1.76), Edinburgh 31st (1.1) and Leeds 35th (0.88). At to th