Commuters' Wasted Time in Traffic Costs $121B
A new report finds that traffic is costing Americans $121 billion in wasted time and fuel. That’s $818 on average for each of us. Plus, Americans are losing a great deal of time behind the wheel- a combined 5.5 billion hours or an average 5 vacation days for each of us.
Congestion isn’t a “big city” problem either. Daily delays are plaguing smaller cities, too. Portland residents are losing on average $937 each year due to congestion. Portland ranked 17th nationally in traffic delays. In our state’s capitol of Salem, residents are losing $580 annually. Eugene also made it onto the plagued cities list with residents losing $284 per year.
Traffic delays also cost economic opportunity-the combined economic loss realized among Oregon cities included in the study was $1.2 billion. Costs due to congestion are also often passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices.
National congestion is projected to worsen due to population and employment growth. By 2020, the cost of congestion to commuters is projected to jump to $199 billion.
The study is a good cue for Oregon residents to find relief by cutting back on excess driving and taking advantage of transportation options such as transit, carpooling, biking and telecommuting. Useful tips can be found at DriveLessSaveMore.com.
Full 2012 Urban Mobility Report