Los Angeles: how to spend over $2000 in the world’s worst traffic

If you’re stuck in traffic in Los Angeles, you can at least tell yourself that it’s worse in Thailand, overall. Colombia and Indonesia tied for second-worst traffic, while the U.S. and Russia tied for fourth.

LA has been ranked the world’s most gridlocked city, topping Moscow and New York, but Thailand has been rated the most congested country. The rankings were released Monday by Inrix, a transportation analytics company.

But traffic data firm Inrix reports that it has a fresh way of measuring the worst traffic across the globe and that Los Angeles is not only America's No. 1 but the world's as well. Greater L.A.'s rank on the all-new Global Traffic Scorecard is based on the estimated time the average local motorist spent stuck in traffic during peak commuter hours in 2016. The average driver wasted 104 hours sitting in gridlock during the busiest commuting times last year, and lost $2,408 each in squandered fuel and productivity.

While Moscow had the second-worst congestion, New York and San Francisco weren't far behind. New York motorists spent 89 hours on average in traffic during peak periods last year. The average San Francisco driver cooled their heels behind the wheel 83 hours on average in 2016.
"This scorecard takes all roads into account to give a more accurate reflection of a the typical trip," says Inrix senior economist Bob Pishue. Traffic in other global cities can be "more severe" for shorter periods, "but people in L.A. tend to sit in it longer," he says.

Some of the most congested municipalities are taking steps to get traffic moving, the report says. Los Angeles voters approved Measure M in November, a sweeping $120 billion plan aimed at updating transit infrastructure ranging from bike lanes to highways. San Francisco’s Smart I-80 corridor, which opened  in September could be helping to keep traffic from worsening. And New York City is continuing to focus on expanding the new 2nd Avenue subway line which is expected to ultimately ferry more than 200,000 commuters a day.

"Those kinds of unique city challenges rely on big data, technology, (and) connectivity,'' Pishue says. "That's where these solutions lie, not necessarily in adding a lane to a big highway or building a big parking garage.''

Sources: Inrix