The Brief
Americans spent more time stuck in traffic last year than ever before, losing an average of 63 hours to congestion in 2024, according to a new report from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) latest Urban Mobility Report (UMR).
That’s nearly eight full workdays wasted in traffic and represents a 16% jump in national congestion costs over the past five years, now reaching $269 billion a year.
Researchers said although traffic volumes are back to pre-pandemic levels, researchers say congestion now stretches beyond the typical weekday rush, spilling into midday, midweek, and even weekend hours.
What they're saying:
"The numbers show more traffic than we’ve ever seen, but also a different kind of traffic," David Schrank, TTI senior research scientist and lead author

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