So, just how much time do we spend in traffic every morning driving to work?
A lot - according to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, which recently released a story on traffic and gridlock. And it is getting worse, not better.
According to the 2015 Urban Mobility Scorecard, travel delays due to traffic congestion caused drivers to waste more than 3 billion gallons of fuel and kept travelers stuck in their cars for nearly 7 billion extra hours – 42 hours per rush-hour commuter. The total nationwide price tag: $160 billion or $960 per commuter.
- 2015 Urban Mobility Scorecard
- FAQ on the study
- Texas A&M Transportation Institute
- Tampa Bay performance measure (.pdf)
Washington, D.C. tops the list of gridlock-plagued cities, with 82 hours of delay per commuter, followed by Los Angeles (80 hours), San Francisco (78 hours), New York (74 hours), and San Jose (67 hours).
The Tampa Bay area fared better, ranking just out of the top 20. That added up to 41 hours in traffic.
According to the study, traffic congestion caused Tampa and St. Petersburg drivers to waste more than 18 gallons of gas each year from being stuck in traffic during rush hour.
The report comes as Congress is debating the next long-term highway bill funding.
Lawmakers have not reached an agreement yet on how to fund more road construction and repairs and an October deadline is approaching.
The report looked at 32 years worth of traffic data.
It found a sharp increase in congestion following the recession as more people began finding work and driving to the office.