Portland drivers lose 72 hours in traffic
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The average Portland car commuter spends a record 72 hours annually stuck in traffic, a new report finds.
- That's the most since 1982, when the dataset begins.
Why it matters: The findings put some hard data behind a common feeling among many drivers: Traffic has been getting worse ā or at least different ā since the pandemic.
Driving the news: Congestion is growing after a COVID-era dip, while driver behavior has also changed, per the Texas A&M Transportation Institute's 2025 Urban Mobility Report.
- Rush hours are still a thing, but midday traffic is on the rise and delivery trucks are adding to commuter headaches, per the report.
Zoom in: Portlanders added four hours stuck in traffic to their yearly time on the road between 2019 and 2024.
- Could be worse, though. Our friends down in San Francisco added a whopping 31 hours in that same period.
The bottom line: 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.