Traffic Congestion Rises as Commuters Head Back to the Office

Shops could see a rise in customers seeking ADAS components, interior upgrades and infotainment offerings as traffic congestion rises. A recent study shows more time at the office and more fun downtown is leading to more traffic congestion worldwide.

Transportation data and analytics company INRIX Inc. recently released the 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard that identified and ranked congestion and commuting trends in nearly 1,000 cities across 37 countries. Istanbul’s 105 hours lost to congestion topped the worldwide rankings, followed closely by New York City (102 hours) and Chicago (102 hours).

Ten U.S. cities made the top-25 worst congested cities in the world, as more employees returned to the office and leisure activity on nights and weekends increased.

“Every year since 2020, we’ve seen traffic gradually rise towards what it was pre-pandemic,” said Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX and author of the 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard. “While the U.S. is still behind pre-2020 levels of traffic, a pullback of remote and hybrid work models, specifically in tech-heavy areas like San Jose, San Francisco and Seattle, brought a large jump in downtown trips, which is a good sign for metropolitan economies. The data also shows more economic activity on Saturday and Sunday evenings as the downtown core returns to life.”

The higher number of daily commuters heading downtown can bring economic benefits, but it’s a double-edged sword, Pishue continued.

“Traffic can be an indicator of economic boon, but ironically, it’s a hamper on economies in and of itself. Each minute spent waiting in traffic results in money and productivity lost.”

After New York City and Chicago, Los Angeles (88 hours lost) is the next most congested city in in the United States. The country’s biggest increase in traffic congestion came from 15th-ranked Denver, where residents saw a 19% increase in traffic delays compared to 2023.

Overall, congestion resulted in drivers losing an average of 43 hours to traffic jams in 2024, equal to about one work week, costing $771 in lost time and productivity. Nationwide, this adds up to more than 4 billion hours lost, costing $74 billion in lost time.

Nine-out-of-10 of the United States’ largest metro areas saw trips increase into the city core, capped by a sharp 25% increase in trips to downtown Houston, followed by Chicago (13%), Dallas (12%) and Atlanta (10%).

INRIX analysis has pinpointed that the increase in downtown trips across the country is not only due to a return to in-person work, as Saturdays and Sundays saw the largest year-over-year increases in nighttime trips to downtown (12.5% and 12.7%, respectively). These findings suggest the same improvements cities made to attract employees downtown are also responsible for driving increased leisure/entertainment activity and a return to nightlife.

Delay on the country’s busiest roads continues to be one of the most volatile traffic metrics. After holding three spots in the top 10 in 2023, Stamford, Connecticut’s infamous I-95 is now the country’s most congested road, seeing an influx of traffic from both commuters and freight truck drivers across the tristate area.

Roads in New York and California hold 12 of the 25 spots in INRIX’s most congested U.S. corridors rankings.

Finally, while most large U.S. metro areas saw an increase in traffic delays in 2024, many areas outside of the United States grew at an even higher rate. Four cities in the Global Top 10 alone saw double-digit increases in traffic delays compared to 2023. For comparison, only five cities in this year’s U.S. Top 25 saw double-digit increases, with zero coming in the top 10.

Read the full report here.