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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Moscow planning improvements to city’s ITS system
    March 17, 2016
    Buoyed by the success of its recent ITS introductions, the authorities in Moscow are planning additions to the system as Eugene Gerden discovered. The government of Russia’s capital, Moscow, plans further improvement to the city’s transport systems, partly through the introduction of new ITS technologies and the modernisation of existing systems. At the beginning of 2015 the Moscow government completed the introduction of a new ITS infrastructure in the city, which, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin
  • Cost benefit: just $25 boosts pedestrian safety in Florida
    April 29, 2019
    A relatively straightforward change to the way that pedestrians cross the street in a Florida city has made a significant safety improvement. And what’s more, it was cheap, finds David Crawford Installing a lead pedestrian interval (LPI) system at 25 central business district signalised intersections in the Florida city of Lakeland has cut numbers of incidents involving pedestrians by some 60% - at a cost of US$25 for 30 minutes' work, according to traffic operations manager Angelo Rao.
  • Potholes and road safety a bigger priority for future government, says survey
    April 10, 2015
    The next government must make road safety a top priority, with more than 50 per cent of motorists believing the current administration had not made the issue enough of a concern, according to a survey conducted by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). A total of 2,156 people took part in the IAM survey throughout March 2015. The number one gripe amongst those who answered the poll said reducing the number of potholes should be the government’s number one action point, with 70 per cent of respondents
  • Waymo and Uber begin Phoenix AV service
    November 1, 2023
    Ride-hail users can still hire Waymo AVs through Waymo One app as well