- New York City (101 hours)
topped the 2023 Global Traffic Scorecard, followed by Mexico City and London.
- Americans lost an average of 42 hours to congestion, up 11%
from 2022, costing $733 per
driver.
- Midday trips in the U.S. have increased 23% compared to 2019,
with nearly as many trips taken at 12:00
PM as there are at 5:00
PM.
- Trip analysis indicates 10:00 AM to 4:00
PM is the new '9-to-5.'
- The most congested road in America was Orlando's I-4 Westbound from Beachline
Expressway to Western Beltway, followed LA's I-5, I-95 in
Stamford, and New York's I-278.
KIRKLAND, Wash., June 25,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, INRIX, Inc., a
global leader in transportation data and analytics, released the
2023 Global Traffic Scorecard that identified and ranked
congestion and commuting trends in nearly 1,000 cities, across 37
countries. New York City once
again topped the global ranking, followed by Mexico City and London. U.S. cities held two spots in the top
five and four in the top 10.
"Traffic congestion is both a bane and a barometer of economic
health; it symbolizes bustling activity yet simultaneously hampers
it," said Bob Pishue, transportation
analyst at INRIX. "Reflecting on 2023 and early 2024, the surge in
traffic congestion in urban areas indicated a revival of economic
hubbub post-COVID, but it also led to billions of dollars in lost
time for drivers." Despite signs of recovery, though, some aspects
of the pandemic are sticking around. Pishue continued, "Although
congestion is returning to pre-COVID levels, we're seeing
interesting changes in congestion patterns due to the lingering
effects of the pandemic. The continuation of hybrid and remote work
is creating new travel peaks from what we've seen previously."
America's Gridlock is Worse Than Ever
New York City is followed by Chicago (96 hours) and Los Angeles (89 hours) as the most congested
cities in the United States. This
is New York City's second year in
the top spot, despite a 4% reduction in overall congestion. The
typical U.S. driver lost 42 hours to traffic congestion and lost
$733 worth of time, up nearly
$100 from last year.
Table 1: 10 Most Congested Urban Areas in the U.S.
2023 US
Rank
(2022
Rank)
|
Urban
Area
|
2023
Delay
(2022)
|
Compared
to
Pre-
COVID
|
2023
Cost per
Driver
|
2023
Cost
per
City
|
Downtown
Speed
(mph)
|
Q1 2024
vs Q1
2023
|
1 (1)
|
New York City,
NY
|
101 (105)
|
11 %
|
$1,762
|
$9.1 B
|
11
|
-11 %
|
2 (2)
|
Chicago, IL
|
96 (87)
|
18 %
|
$1,672
|
$6.1 B
|
11
|
-8 %
|
3 (3)
|
Los Angeles,
CA
|
89 (78)
|
-4 %
|
$1,545
|
$8.3 B
|
19
|
-5 %
|
4 (4)
|
Boston, MA
|
88 (78)
|
-1 %
|
$1,543
|
$2.9 B
|
10
|
-10 %
|
5 (6)
|
Miami, FL
|
70 (66)
|
18 %
|
$1,219
|
$3.1 B
|
14
|
-1 %
|
6 (5)
|
Philadelphia,
PA
|
69 (67)
|
2 %
|
$1,209
|
$2.9 B
|
11
|
-9 %
|
7 (8)
|
Washington,
DC
|
63 (52)
|
-9 %
|
$1,095
|
$2.7 B
|
11
|
-4 %
|
8 (7)
|
Houston, TX
|
62 (55)
|
1 %
|
$1,082
|
$3.2 B
|
17
|
-1 %
|
9 (9)
|
Atlanta, GA
|
61 (51)
|
-3 %
|
$1,066
|
$2.6 B
|
16
|
-4 %
|
10 (12)
|
Seattle, WA
|
58 (46)
|
-11 %
|
$1,010
|
$1.6 B
|
17
|
-1 %
|
In addition to being the most congested urban area, New York City saw a staggering 13% increase in
downtown trips in 2023 compared to 2022, followed by Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. (7%). Nine out of 10 of
the United States' largest metros
saw a year-over-year increase in downtown trips. Trip analysis also
revealed the traditional 9-to-5 workday has transformed into to a
new 10-to-4 schedule. The shift in off-peak commuting and workday
hours are likely fueled by the continued prevalence of remote and
hybrid work.
A New Midday Rush Hour
The uptick in congestion comes
alongside the emergence of a new phenomenon: the midday rush hour.
As Graph 1 illustrates, morning hourly commute trips in 2023
were down about 12% compared to 2019 and the PM peak (3-6 PM) was down just 9%. However, average hourly
traffic during the midday was up an astonishing 23%, a trend that
has continued to remain since 2020.
Overall, the data shows that per hour, nearly the same number of
trips start during the midday as the evening commute period,
typically the most congested period of the day.
The Most Congested Corridors in the U.S.
Across
the United States, traffic delays
on the busiest corridors have generally improved since 2022.
Notably, the highest peak delay in 2023 was 2.5 hours less than the
peak delay in 2022. A striking example of changing patterns is the
I-4 in Orlando, Florida, which
surged from 10th place in 2022 to the top in 2023.
During peak hours, drivers lost 31 minutes on the I-4 westbound, on
par with Los Angeles' notorious
I-5 congestion.
In Stamford, Connecticut, the
I-95 corridor demonstrated significant congestion in both
directions, earning it the third and fourth spots on the list of
most congested U.S. corridors. Northbound travelers on the 30-mile
stretch of I-95 lost an average of 29 minutes daily, while those
heading southbound faced a slightly lower but still substantial
delay of 28 minutes each day.
Table 1: 10 Most Congested U.S. Roads in 2023
Rank
|
Urban
Area
|
Road Name
|
From
|
To
|
Peak Hour
|
2023
Peak Minutes Lost
|
2023
Hours
Lost
|
1
|
Orlando,
FL
|
I-4 W
|
Beachline
Expy
|
Western Bltwy
|
5:00 PM
|
31
|
124
|
2
|
Los Angeles, CA
|
I-5 S
|
I-10
|
I-605
|
5:00 PM
|
31
|
122
|
3
|
Stamford,
CT
|
I-95 N
|
Sherwood
Isl Conn
|
Warren St
|
4:00 PM
|
29
|
116
|
4
|
Stamford,
CT
|
I-95 S
|
Compo
Road S
|
Indian
Field Rd
|
8:00 AM
|
28
|
111
|
5
|
New York,
NY
|
I-278 W
|
I-495
|
Tillary St
|
4:00 PM
|
21
|
82
|
6
|
Miami, FL
|
I-95 N
|
NW 46th
St
|
NW 151st St
|
5:00 PM
|
20
|
82
|
7
|
Boston,
MA
|
I-93 S
|
Zakim
Bridge
|
Pilgrim's
Hwy
|
3:00 PM
|
20
|
81
|
8
|
Baton
Rouge, LA
|
I-10 E
|
N Lobdell
Hwy
|
I-12
|
4:00 PM
|
17
|
70
|
9
|
Stamford,
CT
|
I-95 N
|
Indian
Field Rd
|
Compo
Road S
|
5:00 PM
|
17
|
68
|
10
|
Chicago,
IL
|
I-94 E
|
I-290
|
I-57
|
4:00 PM
|
17
|
66
|
Congestion Climbs Worldwide
New York, Mexico
City, London, Paris, and Chicago were the top five most congested urban
areas in the Global Congestion Impact Ranking. Out of the top 100
ranked urban areas, 98 experienced more delay than in 2022, and in
71 areas, that delay grew by more than 10%. Just under half,
however, have reached their 2019, pre-COVID level of delay.
Table 2: 10 Most Congested Cities in the World in
2023
2023
Impact
Rank
(2022 Rank)
|
Urban
Area
|
Country
|
2023 Delay per
Driver (hours)
|
Change
from 2022
|
Change from Pre- COVID
|
Downtown Speed (mph)
|
Q1
2024
Change
|
1 (1)
|
New York City,
NY
|
USA
|
101
|
-4 %
|
11 %
|
11
|
-11 %
|
2 (4)
|
Mexico City
|
MEX
|
96
|
13 %
|
-11 %
|
12
|
-5 %
|
3 (2)
|
London
|
UK
|
99
|
2 %
|
3 %
|
10
|
-10 %
|
4 (3)
|
Paris
|
FRA
|
97
|
4 %
|
1 %
|
10
|
-3 %
|
5 (5)
|
Chicago IL
|
USA
|
96
|
10 %
|
18 %
|
11
|
-8 %
|
6 (6)
|
Istanbul
|
TUR
|
91
|
12 %
|
20 %
|
13
|
5 %
|
7 (7)
|
Los Angeles
CA
|
USA
|
89
|
13 %
|
-4 %
|
19
|
-5 %
|
8 (8)
|
Boston MA
|
USA
|
88
|
14 %
|
-1 %
|
10
|
-10 %
|
9 (13)
|
Cape Town
|
ZAF
|
83
|
32 %
|
-10 %
|
12
|
7 %
|
10 (16)
|
Jakarta
|
IDN
|
65
|
33 %
|
-24 %
|
13
|
16 %
|
The Road to Combatting Congestion
Access to reliable
data is the first step in tackling congestion. Applying big data to
create intelligent transportation systems is key to solving urban
mobility problems. INRIX data and analytics on mobility, traffic
signals, parking and population movement help city planners and
engineers make data-based decisions to prioritize spending to
maximize benefits and reduce costs now and into the future.
The key findings of the INRIX 2023 Global Traffic Scorecard
provide a quantifiable benchmark for governments and cities across
the world to measure progress to improve urban mobility and track
the impact of spending on smart city initiatives.
Please visit www.inrix.com/scorecard for:
- Full 2023 Global Traffic Scorecard report
- Interactive webpage with data and information for nearly 1,000
cities and 37 countries
- Complete methodology
Notes to Editors:
Data Sources
INRIX
aggregates anonymous data from diverse datasets – such as phones,
cars, trucks and cities – that leads to robust and accurate
insights. The data used in the 2023 Global Traffic Scorecard is the
congested or uncongested status of every segment of road for every
minute of the day, as used by millions of drivers around the world
that rely on INRIX-based traffic services.
Data used to complete the 2023 Scorecard and Q1 Update spans
more than 15 months. The Scorecard incorporated three years
of historical data to provide a complete year-over-year
comparison of congestion and mobility. A multi-year approach
enables the identification of trends in the world's largest urban
areas and provides a basis for comparison.
Research Methodology
The 2023 Global Traffic
Scorecard provides the most up-to-date methodology to better
understand movement in urban areas across the world. The 2023
Scorecard continues to include travel delay comparisons, collision
trends and last-mile speeds based on the unique commuting patterns
within each metro area, yet the latest origin-and-destination
patterns accommodate the latest commuting behavior shifts.
Commute times were calculated by looking exclusively at the
time it takes to get to and from major employment centers within an
urban area from surrounding commuting neighborhoods. Our newest
methodology, updated for this Scorecard, more accurately estimates
commute distance using actual, observed trips. In general, this has
placed downward pressure on commuting delays versus prior
Scorecards, as observed trips tended to be shorter than previously
estimated.
These changes were run for the years 2019, 2022 and 2023, along
with the Q1 Update provided in this document. Q1 update is a
special update for this version of the Global Traffic Scorecard and
measures the change in average peak period travel times between
January-March 2024 and
January-March 2023.
Economic costs are calculated based on the following hourly values
of time, which were based on U.S. Federal Highway Administration's
Revised Departmental Guidance on Valuation of Travel Time for
Economic Analysis, 2016. Adjusted for inflation, the
rates are the following: $17.45 per
hour in the U.S., £9.12 per hour in the U.K. and 10.67 € per hour
in Germany. Individual urban areas
may have higher, or lower, values of time depending on local
economic conditions.
The 2023 Scorecard values time lost by analyzing peak speed and
free-flow speed data for the busiest commuting corridors and sub
areas as identified by origin and destination patterns unique to
that area. Total time lost is the difference in travel times
experienced during the peak periods compared to free-flow
conditions on a per driver basis. In other words, it is the
difference between driving during commute hours versus driving at
night with little traffic.
About INRIX
Founded in 2004, INRIX pioneered
intelligent mobility solutions by transforming big data from
connected devices and vehicles into mobility insights. For nearly
two decades, INRIX has harnessed machine learning and artificial
intelligence to deliver precise and actionable mobility data. This
revolutionary approach enabled INRIX to become one of the leading
providers of data and analytics into how people move. By empowering
cities, businesses, and people with valuable insights, INRIX is
helping to make the world smarter, safer, and greener. With
partners and solutions spanning across the entire mobility
ecosystem, INRIX is uniquely positioned at the intersection of
technology and transportation – whether its keeping road users
safe, improving traffic signal timing to reduce delay and
greenhouse gasses, optimizing last-mile delivery, or helping
uncover market insights. Learn more at INRIX.com.
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SOURCE INRIX, Inc.