The Philadelphia region's traffic is worse than ever
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The hours drivers spend commuting in the Philadelphia region is heading in the wrong direction.
Why it matters: Longer commutes means less time for leisure, hanging with friends and family, or — if your boss is reading this — work.
⏱️ By the numbers: The average Philly regional driver wasted 70 hours in traffic last year, per a recent report from Texas A&M Transportation Institute.
- That's seven more hours than in 2019 and the highest level since the earliest measurement in 1982.
⛽ What else: All that extra time idling and inching along the pavement wastes an estimated 63 million gallons of gas annually — or 25 gallons per commuter.
The big picture: Congestion is once again growing in many cities after a pandemic-era dip, while driver behavior has also changed, per the report.
- Traditional rush hours are returning, but there's been a notable uptick in midday congestion potentially due to remote and hybrid work changing how and when people travel, per the report.
How it works: The researchers used data from the Federal Highway Administration and INRIX, a transportation analytics firm.
- The Philly region we're talking about includes the Pennsylvania burbs, as well as parts of New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
Plan ahead: The worst delays on Philly regional roads were mostly during an afternoon block from 3-6pm.