Some Pa. commuters waste nearly a workweek and $1,000 per year in traffic
Last week, we provided a national overview of the 2010 Urban Mobility Report, issued by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University. The report calculated the amounts of time and money that are wasted because of traffic congestion – an average of 34 hours and $808 per motorist per year, based on 2009 data.
The report also broke out individual urban areas, in Pennsylvania’s case, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Allentown/Bethlehem. Following are the data for those areas:
Philadelphia-area commuters fared worse than the national average, wasting 39 hours per year sitting in traffic, and paying an additional $919 per year because of congestion, good for 17th among 439 U.S. urban areas.
Pittsburgh was a bit better, ranking 26th, wasting 33 hours and $778 per year. Allentown/Bethlehem was 56th, wasting 22 hours and $522 per commuter per year, well below the average, but a half-workweek’s worth of time and a tidy sum of money nevertheless.
“In Philadelphia, commuters could save the equivalent of almost 40 hours of vacation, and have enough extra money to spend it somewhere nice,” said PHIA Managing Director Jason Wagner. “On top of the frustration that people experience is the issue of personal and family safety as our highways now carry far more traffic than they were designed to carry. We are optimistic that the time is right to address the congestion and safety problem, while at the same time stimulating the economy by creating thousands of jobs.”
To view a copy of the report, click here.
