Study Shows Evening Rush Hour Adds Nearly 50% More Time to Americans' Commute
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TomTom Traffic Index reveals most congested cities in the U.S.; Los Angeles continues to have the worst traffic in America
BURLINGTON, MA --March 31, 2015: Today, TomTom (TOM2) released its 5th annual Traffic Index, the most accurate measurement of traffic congestion in over 200 cities worldwide. In addition to revealing rising congestion levels around the globe, for the first time, the Index took an in-depth look at the true impact of rush hour traffic during the work week, uncovering that people spend 46% more time in their cars compared to free-flow traffic.
Additional highlights of the 2014 study include:
- Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, New York and Seattle, respectively, are the top five most congested cities in the U.S., based on analysis of 12 trillion data points
- For the top 10 US cities the average overall congestion is now 30%, a 5% increase from 2012
- New York congestion increased this year, resulting in a move up in the rankings from 6th to 4th most congested
- In general, Thursday is the most congested evening commute, except in Honolulu and New York, where Friday shows the highest congestion
The high levels of congestion are due in part to the traditional work week, giving people no choice but to all be on the road network at the exact same time. By adopting more flexible schedules, individuals save travel time and rush hour congestion can be reduced overall.
"TomTom's mission is to reduce traffic congestion for everyone," said Jocelyn Vigreux, President of TomTom, Inc. "Our traffic data shows that there are opportunities for businesses, road authorities and drivers to use TomTom's real-time traffic information to help ease the impact of rush hour traffic for road users every day. In addition to recognizing the impact of rush hour traffic, the TomTom Traffic Index can help road authorities measure the performance of their network and pinpoint areas where traffic flow can be improved."
Top 10 Most Congested Cities
| Rank | City | Overall Congestion Level 2014 | Overall Congestion Level 2013 |
Rank | City | Overall Congestion Level 2014 | Overall Congestion Level 2013 |
| 1 | Los Angeles | 39% | 36% | 6 |
San Jose | 30% | 26% |
| 2 | San Francisco | 34% |
32% | 7 |
Miami | 27% | 24% |
| 3 |
Honolulu | 32% | 29% | 8 |
Chicago | 27% | 22% |
| 4 | New York | 31% |
26% | 9 | Washington, DC | 27% |
24% |
| 5 |
Seattle | 31% | 27% | 10 |
Portland | 26% | 22% |
Additional Insight Into Rush Hour Traffic
Commuters in Los Angeles experience the worst traffic congestion overall, the evening rush hour is no exception. The average 30 minute drive in LA will take 54 minutes during evening rush hour, leading to an extra 92 hours wasted in traffic annually.
Top Ten Cities with the Worst Evening Rush Hour:
| Rank | City | Evening Congestion Level | Overall Congestion Level | Rank | City |
Evening Congestion Level | Overall Congestion Level |
| 1 | Los Angeles | 80% | 39% | 6 | San Francisco | 68% |
34% |
| 2 |
San Jose | 75% | 30% | 7 |
Portland | 61% | 26% |
| 3 |
Seattle | 74% | 31% | 8 |
Austin | 61% | 25% |
| 4 |
Honolulu | 68% | 32% | 9 |
Atlanta | 59% | 24% |
| 5 |
Houston | 68% | 25% | 10 |
Chicago | 59% | 22% |
To find out more information on the Traffic Index, including the complete data and individual city reports please visit: Traffic Index
