The High Cost of Rush Hour on Time

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By TomTom, Special for  USDR

 

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: www.tomtom.com/trafficindex

For b-roll, please  visit: http://www.visionariesevents.com/admin/tomtom/March_2015_TomTom_Annual_Traffic_Index_Canada.mp4(username:tomtom password:  navigate)

Notes to Editors:

This year TomTom has expanded its Traffic Index to 218 cities in 36 countries. For the first time, the Index includes traffic information for China, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in one comprehensive report.

TomTom has analyzed the average amount of delay a driver experiences during peak times of traffic congestion in the morning and evening, which are typical commuting hours. By comparing this to free flow traffic the true impact of traffic congestion for the average  commuter.

About  TomTom

TomTom (TOM2) empowers movement.  Every day millions of people around the world depend on TomTom to make smarter decisions. We design and develop innovative products that make it easy for people to keep moving towards their goals. Best known for being a global leader in navigation and mapping products, TomTom also creates GPS Sport Watches, as well as state-of-the-art fleet management solutions and industry-leading location-based  products.

Our business consists of four customer-facing business units: Consumer, Automotive, Licensing and  Telematics.

Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Amsterdam, we have 4,000 employees worldwide and sell our products in over 46  countries.

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