Boston has some of the worst traffic in the world, report finds (2024)

FAQs

Boston has some of the worst traffic in the world, report finds? ›

Boston has the fourth-worst traffic in the nation and eighth-worst in the world, according to a new report by INRIX, a global transportation data and analytics company. New York City topped the 2023 Global Traffic Scoreboard, followed by Mexico City and London.

That top honor goes to New York City, according to the annual Traffic Index for 2023 put out by geolocation technology specialist TomTom. The rankings analyzed the time, cost, and CO2 emissions per mile driven to get the results, simulating how long it takes to complete a six-mile trip within a city for cars.

The main reason why traffic is so bad in Boston is because the city is really old. In fact, many of our existing roadways were originally built before automobiles even existed. At this time, there was almost no central planning to speak of. Over the years, making roads was a largely ad hoc process.

New York City has the worst traffic in the U.S.

The TomTom report found that, on average, commuters in the heart of the Big Apple spent 24 minutes and 50 seconds driving about six miles in 2023, a 20-second increase over 2022. New York City has the worst traffic in America, according to a new report.

London, UK, holds the title for the most congested city in the world in 2024, with significant daily delays.

Top 25 Cities With The Worst Drivers

To see the overall rank and two of the metrics considered, hover over each location. Albuquerque, NM takes the No. 1 spot. Note: For all metrics we took a five-year average, using data from 2017 to 2021.

Boston has the fourth-worst traffic in the nation and eighth-worst in the world, according to a new report by INRIX, a global transportation data and analytics company. New York City topped the 2023 Global Traffic Scoreboard, followed by Mexico City and London.

This study demonstrated that the level of income taxes, cost of housing, and healthcare are three top concerns. The business community should lobby Beacon Hill to require that the governor formally appoint a cabinet-level official to lead the charge to address out-migration.

You can view TomTom's full report here. Last year, INRIX, a data and analytics firm specializing in transportation, released its own Global Traffic Scorecard. The results were largely similar: Chicago commuters lost the most time to traffic in 2022 at 155 hours, followed by Boston (134 hours) and New York (117 hours).

Which US state has the least traffic? ›

Montana is considered the best state when it comes to traffic/infrastructure. However, there is a two-way tie for states with highest percentage of rush hour congestion: Florida and Massachusetts. There is a five-way tie for states with the lowest percentage: Alaska, Montana, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.

New York City ranked as the worst when it comes to traffic. According to TomTom's research, on average, commuters in the heart of the city spent nearly 25 minutes driving just about 6 miles (10 kilometers) in 2023, a 20-second increase over 2022. That's the 20th-longest overall in the world.

BHUTAN IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD THAT DOESN'T HAVE A SINGLE TRAFFIC LIGHT IN ITS CAPITAL CITY OR THE WHOLE COUNTRY... Instead, policemen in Thimphu and other cities stand at major intersections and direct traffic. Bhutan has no traffic light in the entire country.

The most obvious reason is population growth. More people mean more vehicles.

The next-worst city was Los Angeles, where drivers lost 89 hours to congestion. In only three other cities — Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C. — drivers lost more than 80 hours. Drivers in other New York cities, as well as Ohio, saw the least congestion.

When judged on a broader scale, Houston fared far better. One might be able to guess the city with the highest travel congestion time: Los Angeles, coming in at a 61.07 minute average travel time. Below are the top 10 cities studied with the longest average travel time in 2022: Los Angeles.