Skip to main content

US traffic congestion grows in 2013

Highway traffic congestion in the United States grew 6 per cent in 2013 compared with the previous year, more than three times the rate of inflation, according to traffic tracking firm Inrix. The rate compared with the gross domestic product increase of 1.9 per cent last year, Inrix said. Europe saw a similar increase in traffic congestion. Los Angeles saw the worst traffic congestion in 2013, Inrix said. The average driver there wasted 64 hours in traffic throughout the year, an 8.5 per cent increase
March 10, 2014 Read time: 1 min

Highway traffic congestion in the United States grew 6 per cent in 2013 compared with the previous year, more than three times the rate of inflation, according to traffic tracking firm 163 Inrix.

The rate compared with the gross domestic product increase of 1.9 per cent last year, Inrix said. Europe saw a similar increase in traffic congestion.

Los Angeles saw the worst traffic congestion in 2013, Inrix said. The average driver there wasted 64 hours in traffic throughout the year, an 8.5 per cent increase over 2012.

Honolulu, San Francisco, Austin, Texas and New York City rounded out the top five most congested metropolitan areas, and all saw large increases in 2013.

Inrix’s data found that cities with large growth in economic activity saw the most significant congestion increases.

Related Content

  • May 28, 2014
    US cities opt for variable-rate parking
    Los Angeles and San Francisco are among the US cities opting to use variable-rate parking to make it easier to find a parking space. Los Angeles is piloting LA Express Park, program covering a 4.5 square-mile area of downtown using technology to match on-street parking prices with demand. The objective is to ensure that between 10 and 30 per cent of the parking spaces on each block are open throughout the day. Smart meters and sensors compile occupancy and payment data and based on that information, a pr
  • April 10, 2012
    Flexible, demand-based parking charges ease parking problems
    Innovative parking initiatives on the US Pacific Coast. David Crawford reviews. Californian cities are leading the way in trialling new solutions to their endemic parking problems. According to Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California in Los Angeles, drivers looking for available spots can cause up to 74% of traffic congestion in downtown areas. One solution is variable, demand-responsive pricing of parking.
  • April 10, 2012
    Flexible, demand-based parking charges ease parking problems
    Innovative parking initiatives on the US Pacific Coast. David Crawford reviews. Californian cities are leading the way in trialling new solutions to their endemic parking problems. According to Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California in Los Angeles, drivers looking for available spots can cause up to 74% of traffic congestion in downtown areas. One solution is variable, demand-responsive pricing of parking.
  • September 13, 2022
    Webinar: Mitigating post-Covid traffic congestion
    Traffic congestion is nearly back to pre-Covid levels in top US downtowns - but it’s not too late to do something about it, says StreetLight