2005 US Metros with Worst Traffic Congestion

Worst Cities for Traffic Forbes.com By Robert Malone NEW YORK - The worst traffic in the U.S. is getting even worse. It pollutes as the vehicles idle. It wastes the time of trucks and passenger cars. The annual delay per driver is in excess of 47 hours per year. It creates delayed shipments. It wastes more than 2.3 billion gallons of fuel each year. The cost of U.S. traffic delays is, conservatively, $63.1 billion a year, based on 2003 figures, the Texas Transportation Institute says. And it's not getting any better. "We would think that today the figure might be $2 billion to $3 billion more with the rise in fuel prices,Â" says David Schrank, author of the 2005 Urban Utility Report for the Texas Transportation Institute. He suggests further that despite this escalating problem, the commuting public has not changed its driving habits all that much. People have done some chaining of chores and shared driving to malls and offices. But the driving has continued, and the delays continue to get worse. "In L.A. the traffic delay problem extends from sunup to sundown," says Schrank. "There is really no letup between.Â" By the Texas Transportation Institute's reckoning, the cities having the worst traffic problems are: 1. Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Ana, Calif. 2. San Francisco, Oakland, Calif. 3. Washington, D.C. 4. Atlanta 5. Houston 6. Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Tex. 7. Chicago. 8. Detroit 9. Riverside, San Bernardino, Calif. 9. Orlando, Fla. 11. San Jose, Calif. 12. San Diego California has a decided edge in '"winning" the award for the worst traffic, since five of its cities (or city regions) make the top 12 list. Several of the cities mentioned are well known as trucking, rail, air and sometimes sea hubs for logistics. The convergence of services taxes the infrastructure.>