The Texas Transportation Research Institute’s 2009 Urban Mobility Report, released Wednesday, July 8, indicates that traffic congestion costs the United States $87.2 billion annually, more than $750 per traveler.
The economic costs of traffic congestion have increased 63 percent over the past decade, according to the report, with Americans now wasting more than 2.8 billion gallons of fuel each year stuck in traffic. Motorists also waste 4.2 billion hours annually, or one full work week per traveler, the report determined.
The TTI report found that 75 percent of travel time and congestion cost savings produced by public transportation systems were concentrated in just six cities, with New York City capturing half of the nationwide benefits. According to the TTI report, 12,676 new lane-miles of highways and roads are needed to keep up with congestion.
The 2009 Urban Mobility Report can be found at http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums.
