An analysis of travel times in major world cities reveals how much time drivers spend in traffic.
A study from TomTom ranks New York City as the worst U.S. city for traffic congestion and travel speeds, with San Francisco coming in second, reports Magdalena Del Valle in Bloomberg CityLab.
“People from the top 10 US cities with the longest travel times lost an average of 60.6 hours commuting over peak hours by car last year,” according to the study. Cities with bottlenecks like bridges or mountain roads tend to have higher congestion, according to a TomTom analyst.
Travel speeds and congestion were ranked separately. “The researchers gave cities one ranking based on travel speed and another on ‘congestion’ — a metric that discounts other factors that slow drivers down like infrastructure and speed limits.” In cities like New York, the built environment makes driving a car slower regardless of traffic. “To encourage faster alternative means of travel, New York City plans to invest the revenue from its new congestion pricing policy in infrastructure for improved public transit and biking.”
FULL STORY: New York, San Francisco Ranked Worst for US Traffic in City Centers
NYC Congestion Pricing Reduced Traffic in its First Week
The program has taken tens of thousands of vehicles off the city’s roads in its first week.
From 9-to-5 to Anytime: How Telecommuting Changes the Traffic Game
Not all cities have benefited equally from congestion relief brought on by shifting commuting patterns.
San Francisco ‘Best-Performing Metro’ for VMT, Traffic Reduction
The city saw a 13 percent drop in miles driven per capita in the last five years.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
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HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research