HOUSTON – Houstonians are very familiar with the daily struggle with traffic congestion and a recent study finally justifies their grievances.
Houston has been ranked as the 11th-most congested city in the U.S., according to a study published today by INRIX Inc.
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Last year, drivers in Houston wasted an average of 51.6 hours in traffic, which accounted for 7 percent of their total drive time.
Traffic congestion in 2016 cost U.S. drivers nearly $300 billion and averaged a cost of $1,400 per driver.
“A stable U.S. economy, continued urbanization of major cities, and factors such as employment growth and low gas prices have all contributed to increased traffic in 2016. Congestion also costs our country hundreds of billions of dollars, threatens future economic growth and lowers our quality of life,” said Bob Pishue, senior economist at INRIX. “Traffic truly is a double-edged sword.”
The INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard named the U.S. the most-congested developed country in the world and said it is home to 11 of the top 25 cities with the worst traffic congestion. Houston is ranked 28th in the world.
In comparison with other Texas cities, Houston's traffic is a little less congested than Dallas, which ranked as the seventh-most congested city in the U.S. and 16th in the world.
Austin is ranked as the 42nd worst congestion in the world and 13th worst in the U.S., according to the study.
San Antonio ranked as the 32nd worst congestion in the U.S. and 204th worst in the world.