Boston traffic congestion keeps getting worse
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The good news: In Greater Boston, the time we spend in traffic has gone down by nearly 7% since before the pandemic.
- The bad news: Congestion is getting worse year after year, and we're almost back to the heights of the 2010s, a new report finds.
Why it matters: The findings put some hard data behind a common feeling among many drivers: Traffic has been getting worse — or at least is different — since the COVID-19 pandemic, even if the stats say otherwise.
- The average U.S. car commuter is spending a record 63 hours annually stuck in traffic amid changes in when and why we drive, per the Texas A&M Transportation Institute's 2025 Urban Mobility Report.
- That's the most since 1982, when the dataset begins.
Driving the news: Congestion is once again growing in many cities after a pandemic-era dip, while driver behavior has also changed.
- Traditional rush hours are returning. Yet there's also been a "noticeable rise in midday congestion," the report finds, possibly tied to remote and hybrid work changing people's schedules and travel behaviors.
- Thursday has overtaken Friday with the highest share of weekly delay — perhaps "because some of the Friday travel is not associated with commuting, whereas Thursday has more of a typical commute pattern."
- Delivery trucks are adding to traffic woes as well.
Zoom in: Several cities in the Northeast have seen traffic improvements compared to 2019.
- Bostonians now spend six fewer hours a year stuck in traffic.
- Worcester saw a four-hour annual decline, or a 9.5% decrease.
- Springfield's down three hours, or 7.5%.
- But Providence and New York City saw increases in congestion.
Between the lines: Expect the 2025 Boston numbers to be up a bit over 2024 and nearing that 2019 peak.
The big picture: It's getting harder to predict when it'll be busy out on the roads, leading to "added traveler frustration," as the report puts it.
What's next: The report lays out several potential solutions based on local needs, including roadway expansions, better public transportation, new traffic-management technologies and more.
- Cities are experimenting with changes big and small to improve traffic flow, with something as simple as a 10-second streetlight timing tweak making a difference at one Boston intersection, Axios' Steph Solis reports.
The bottom line: It's not just you — traffic is weird now.