New York City traffic congestion

(March 4, 2023) New Yorkers experience the worst congestion in the country - traveling at an average of just 12 mph during rush hour, according to a study by Stress Free Car Rental.  Motorists in Washington D.C. and San Francisco experience the second and third worst congestion across the country, with an average travel speed of 14 mph and 15 mph respectively, during peak times.

 Boston makes the top five of the worst congested cities, taking on average 18.4 minutes to drive six miles.
 
Drivers in Pennsylvania also experience long wait times sitting in traffic, as both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh make the top 10 list also. Chicago and Baltimore rank at the fifth and sixth worst congested cities in the country, spending almost 20 minutes to travel six miles during peak travel times.
 
Seattle and Miami also have some of the most jam-packed roads across America, with drivers traveling at an average speed of 21 mph during rush hour.


 
A spokesperson for StressFreeCarRental.com said: “It’s unsurprising to see the most densely populated city at the top of the league table — with New Yorkers traveling at an average of 12 miles an hour at rush hour. Of the top 10, it’s only drivers in Pittsburgh and Miami who can make a six mile journey in less than 15 minutes.
 
“For motorists in the most congested cities of San Francisco, Washington DC, and New York, the journey will take 20 minutes or more."
 
Drivers are experiencing slow moving traffic every day — with an average speed of only 17.5 mph during rush hour across the US as a whole.
 
And many motorists are spending over 40 minutes doing their daily commute because of how congested the city roads have become. This is frustratingly slow and none of us particularly enjoy spending longer than we already do sitting in our cars while we miss out on things we would rather be doing instead.
 
But it is surprising not to see some of America’s busiest cities on the list — Pittsburgh ranking above Los Angeles is surprising when you consider the reputation L.A. has for congestion. Los Angeles has ranked in the top 10 of most other surveys taken during the past 10 years.
 
Stress Free Car Rental says what we might be seeing is the result of differing levels of investment into improving roads and public transport city to city. As the U.S. tries to improve its air quality, pollution, and reduction of emissions, we need more investment to help traffic flow more freely.
 
This might involve introducing more congestion charges for motorists in these cities and pumping more funding into improving roads and public transport systems to tackle the issue.