February 25, 2009

Inrix: Traffic Congestion Down - Follows the Economy Downward

Inrix has given us a report card for traffic in 2008, and the results are in; traffic congestion is down and it's not surprisingly tied to the economy and high gas prices. People aren't working - not driving to the job, they aren't buying - aren't driving to the store; goods aren't ordered for the store - they aren't shipped from the warehouse; and as a result, they aren't made - fewer raw materials shipped..... an on and on. You get it. I've seen it myself on the Boston roads.

The congestion is down and down dramatically:

National congestion was lower every hour of every day in 2008 versus the year prior, 30 percent lower on average depending on the hour and day.

99 of the 100 regions studied saw congestion levels decrease. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with a 6 percent increase in overall congestion, was the only region with an increase from 2007, shooting up in the metropolitan rankings from 47th to 33rd in overall congestion.

Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. remained America's most congested hour of the week, although the Travel Time Index (TTI) fell 23 percent. Thursday from 5 to 6 p.m. ranked as the next most congested hour.

National congestion levels were essentially the same when comparing the first and second halves of 2008, suggesting that higher fuel prices in early 2008 and the slower economy later in the year netted the same drop in overall congestion.

Wednesday saw the biggest drop in congestion, with a 31 percent overall decrease in peak hours.

The report cautions becoming lax in pushing forth infrastructure developments due to the decrease in congestion this year, because when the economy improves and if fuel prices remain affordable, traffic will likely increase again.

"While we all should cheer the reduction in congestion in 2008, we should be under no illusion that this is permanent," said Rick Schuman, vice president of public sector, INRIX. "We must still continue to focus energies on policies and methods to reduce traffic."

The second annual National Traffic Scorecard was created through extensive analysis of nearly 50,000 miles of primary roadways in major metropolitan areas, selected from INRIX's traffic data warehouse of over 800,000 miles of roadways and 120 real-time markets in the U.S.

Top 10 Worst Traffic Cities
1. Los Angeles, California
2. New York, New York
3. Chicago, Illinois
4. Dallas, Texas
5. Washington, DC
6. Houston, Texas
7. San Francisco, California
8. Boston, Massachusetts
9. Seattle, Washington
10. Minneapolis, Minnesota