Lost time and endless aggravation are two of the biggest drawbacks of a grueling commute by car. But gridlock on the way to work also harms the environment by pumping extra pollution into the air and wasting precious fuel. How wasteful and time-consuming a commute becomes depends in part on how slowly traffic moves and how long it is stalled, says David Schrank, an associate research scientist at the Texas Transportation Institute, part of Texas A&M University in College Station.
Things start to get inefficient only when highway traffic begins to bog down, he says. "You're not wasting fuel until you drop below 60 mph, but when you get to stop-and-go traffic, you're really wasting fuel as you accelerate and decelerate."
Schrank is part of the team that conducted the institute's latest annual Urban Mobility Study, examining the fuel (and time) commuters waste because of congestion. The study, based on 2005 data (the most recent available), measures how many hours and gallons of fuel are wasted per individual commuter˜whether that commuter is traveling by car, rail, bus or other form of motorized transportation˜during peak commute times.
Overall, traffic congestion costs the U.S. economy $78 billion a year, wasting 2.9 billion gallons of fuel and robbing commuters of 4.2 billion hours, the study found. Here are the top 10 most wasteful cities in the country for commuters, based on fuel usage, according to the institute:
10. Detroit
Why would this city known as the symbol of the U.S. auto industry give drivers — and the environment — such a hard time in the form of complicated commuting? The institute says rush-hour congestion in the Motor City wastes 35 gallons of fuel and 54 hours per traveler per year. As for public transit alternatives, residents are limited to buses and a small downtown rail loop.
9. San Jose
Congestion wastes 38 gallons of fuel per traveler each year and 54 hours of time in this urban center south of San Francisco. City officials are considering a plan aimed at easing congestion that would extend the Bay Area Rapid Transit system from Fremont to San Jose to form a loop around the Bay Area.
8. Riverside- San Bernardino
Each commuter in this California agglomeration east of Los Angeles loses 40 gallons of fuel and 49 hours of time every year to traffic jams. This area also has one of the nation's most costly commutes, because its gas prices are among the highest in the country, according to a May study by Forbes.com.
7. Dallas - Fort Worth
Congestion in this sprawling Texas city robs each commuter of 40 gallons of fuel and 58 hours of time each year. However, more commuters are turning to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail as fuel prices climb. As of April, the number of light-rail commuters had climbed 9 percent over the previous year.
6. Houston
Congestion in this sprawling Texas city robs each commuter of 40 gallons of fuel and 58 hours of time each year. However, more commuters are turning to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail as fuel prices climb. As of April, the number of light-rail commuters had climbed 9 percent over the previous year.
5. Washington, D.C
Gridlock claims 43 gallons of fuel per traveler per year in the nation's capital. Commuters already spend a long time on the road driving into the U.S. capital and back out again from the nearby Virginia and Maryland suburbs. But peak-time congestion adds a whopping 60 wasted hours to their annual commute. The good news? Washington's Metro, which is fairly extensive, offers residents a mass-transit alternative.
4. San Diego
This California city ties with Atlanta at 44 gallons of wasted fuel a year, while the average commuter loses 57 hours stuck in traffic — three less than in Atlanta. City officials are pushing for an express train line that would run between Los Angles and San Diego as part of a plan to ease congestion.
3. Atlanta
Commuters here lose 60 hours a year on average and waste 44 gallons of fuel a year, the institute says. Extensive highway construction and road work throughout town this summer will leave commuters idling away even more time and gas as they wait in traffic.
2. San Francisco
Commuters lose an average of 60 hours a year to delays and waste 47 gallons each because of congestion as they work their way over the roads and crowded bridges of this Northern California city. The good news? The Bay Area has one of the better public-transit systems in the country, with options for commuting by ferry, bus, subway and rail.
1. Los Angeles
When it comes to wasteful commuting, this sprawling Southern California megalopolis wins by a mile. Congestion keeps every commuter stuck in traffic an extra 72 hours a year and annually wastes 57 gallons of fuel per traveler, according to the study. That's 10 gallons more wasted per commuter than the No. 2 city on the list.
[source]
