DC-Area Drivers Have Third Longest Commute in the Country

Just in time for the return to work after the Labor Day holiday...

Did you hear the report from WTOP Radio that D.C.-area drivers are slogging to and from work a lengthy 36.6 minutes each way, good enough for third longest in the nation? That according to a new report released by Inrix, a company that provides traffic and navigation systems.

"Only drivers in traffic-choked Los Angeles and Honolulu spend more time behind the wheel during their commutes, according to Inrix. WTOP reports that the study compared traffic statistics from the first half of this year to the first half of last year."

Meanwhile, refencing the same study, the Washington Business Journal reported that the region is now the fourth-most congested market in the U.S., according to Inrix’s data from 2008 through mid-2009.

"Traffic increased by 9 percent in the area in the first half of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008 when it ranked No. 5. Kirkland, Wash.-based Inrix, which provides traffic information to customers such as MapQuest and Microsoft Corp., says the D.C. area’s worst peak traffic comes between 5 and 6 p.m. Thursdays.

"The study ranked the nation’s top most-congested cities, naming Los Angeles No. 1. The city of angels was followed by New York, Chicago, D.C., Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and Philadelphia."

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Washington, D.C. is 5th Worst Congested Metro Area According to New Report

Did you hear about the INRIX National Traffic Scorecard?

Its 2008 annual report provides a comprehensive analysis of the "state of congestion" in 2008 across America and how it changed versus 2007. Leveraging tens of billions of GPS data points from vehicles traveling across 47,000 miles of major roadways of urban America, INRIX analysis produced a 130+ page report ranking the top 100 worst congested metropolitan areas and providing details on the worst traffic bottlenecks.

Drum roll please... According to the survey, the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area ranks 5th for the most congested metro area in the country.

WJLA TV-7 reports, however, that this year's 5th spot is actually an improvement over the area's ranking at number four in 2007. The report says that the traffic in D.C. has actually decreased by more than 25 percent since 2007.

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Did You Know that the D.C. Area is One of the Worst Congested Areas?

Duh, right?

According to the Washington Business Journal, Kirkland, Wash.-based Inrix, which provides traffic information to customers such as MapQuest and Microsoft Corp., ranked the nation’s 100 most-congested cities, naming Los Angeles No. 1. The city of angels was followed by New York, Chicago, D.C., Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco, Houston, Boston, Seattle and Atlanta.

The report says that the worst peak traffic comes between 5-6 p.m. on Fridays. The Inrix National Traffic Scorecard also found interesting patterns evolving out of U.S. traffic congestion:

• Worst traffic day: Friday
• Worst weekday commute: Friday p.m.
• Worst commuting hour: Friday 5-6 p.m.
• Worst morning commute: Wednesday a.m.
• Best weekday for traffic: Monday
• Best weekday commute: Friday a.m.
• Best weekday commuting hour: Friday 6-7 a.m.
• Best weekday afternoon: Monday p.m.

"The D.C. area also lays claim to one of the 100 worst traffic bottlenecks: the Interstate 395 approach to the 14th Street Bridge. The quarter-mile northbound stretch of I-395 at the George Washington Memorial Parkway interchange in Arlington County ranked No. 84, with an average speed of 10.5 miles per hour when backed up — which is an average of 43 hours a week. Areas in the Bronx, N.Y., took the top two spots on the bottleneck list."

For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic via your favorite RSS reader, or get Loudoun County Traffic by e-mail.