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Did your commute worsen in 2022? Total, congestion price the nation greater than $81 billion, says transportation knowledge firm Inrix. It simply printed its International Site visitors Scorecard for the previous yr, and the info says the standard US driver spent 51 hours in visitors final yr, 15 hours greater than in 2021. And as a consequence of elevated gasoline costs and different inflation, the typical driver paid $134 extra for gasoline final yr than the yr earlier than—and that is along with $869 in misplaced time.
Though it is not as extreme because it was in 2020 or 2021, it is nonetheless attainable to see the impact of the pandemic in Inrix’s knowledge. Within the US, car miles traveled (VMT) elevated by 1 p.c yr on yr, however we nonetheless drove 9 p.c fewer miles per yr than earlier than the pandemic. Apparently, Inrix says this is because of extra folks persevering with to make money working from home, which it says now accounts for 17.9 p.c of People—earlier than the pandemic, make money working from home accounted for under 5.7 p.c of staff, in response to the US Census Bureau.
Sadly, highway security remains to be fairly abysmal; the estimated fatality fee of 1.27 deaths per 100 million VMT is 17 p.c greater than we noticed in 2019, though there was a slight discount from 2021’s excessive of 1.3 fatalities per 100 million VMT. And whereas a few of the different developments discovered within the report exist in nations just like the UK or Germany, the rise in highway deaths seems to be distinctive to the US.
Inrix collects knowledge on extra than simply automotive journeys, and on the subject of public transport, issues are wanting higher than at any time because the begin of the pandemic. COVID brought about People to lower their use of buses, trains, and trams by 50 p.c, however in 2022, we gained again 33 p.c of that loss with elevated ridership. Total, public transport utilization within the US stays 39 p.c down from 2019.
And whereas biking turned way more well-liked in Germany and the UK over the past couple of years, right here within the US, that is probably not taking place. Bikeshare leases in New York Metropolis and Washington, DC, have elevated, however cities like Seattle and San Francisco have misplaced cyclists, attributed by Inrix to the work-from-home impact.
Your visitors is unhealthy—London’s visitors is worse
Along with nationwide developments, Inrix additionally scores cities world wide for congestion. And topping the chart but once more is London, up 5 p.c yr on yr. The common pace driving in downtown London was simply 10 mph, and the typical Londoner misplaced 156 hours to congestion in 2022.
However issues have been practically as bleak in Chicago, which jumped 4 spots to land in second place for 2022. Drivers within the Windy Metropolis wasted 155 hours in jams, a rise of 49 p.c in comparison with 2021. Chicagoans can take solace that their common downtown pace is an entire mile an hour quicker than it might be in London.
Paris takes the bronze medal, with residents spending 138 hours idling in visitors, a 1 p.c lower over final yr. However the US can take satisfaction in claiming spots 4 and 5, Boston and New York Metropolis, respectively. Boston noticed an enormous bounce—72 p.c up on final yr, for a grand complete of 134 hours thrown away in jams. However New Yorkers fared a bit higher, with 117 hours sacrificed to congestion.
