In 2019, people spent record time stuck in traffic
NEWYORK: Car traffic is worsening in many cities around the world, a study found, but congestion charges and novel policies in some cities have proven effective in reducing the number of vehicles on the road.
Many cities are working to reduce car travel as they try to cut carbon dioxide emissions and shorten commuting times. Still, drivers in 2019 overall spent more time stuck in traffic than in previous years, according to a Monday study by transportation analytics firm INRIX Inc, ranking congestion in more than 900 cities worldwide.
In the US, drivers on average lost 99 hours last year due to congestion, the report calculated, two hours more than in 2017. Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York City and Washington led the ranking as the most severely congested US cities.
Overall, time lost in traffic cost the US economy an estimated $88 billion last year,
INRIX calculated using labour market and wage statistics.
On a global scale, the five most congested cities are Bogota, Colombia, Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Turkey’s Istanbul and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Overall, the most congested cities are either older or rapidly growing, the report showed.
Trevor Reed, INRIX transportation analyst and author of the report, said congestion fees in London, Sweden’s Stockholm and Singapore have significantly reduced car traffic.
New York will be the first US city to implement congestion pricing in 2021.