Posted on 09/02/2008 6:49:33 AM PDT by Vigilanteman
(LifeWire) - Lost time and endless aggravation are two of the
biggest drawbacks of a grueling commute by car. But gridlock on
the way to work also harms the environment by pumping extra
pollution into the air and wasting precious fuel.
How wasteful and time-consuming a commute becomes depends in part
on how slowly traffic moves and how long it is stalled, says
David Schrank, an associate research scientist at the Texas
Transportation Institute, part of Texas A&M University in College
Station.
Things start to get inefficient only when highway traffic begins
to bog down, he says. "You're not wasting fuel until you drop
below 60 mph, but when you get to stop-and-go traffic, you're
really wasting fuel as you accelerate and decelerate."
Schrank is part of the team that conducted the institute's latest
annual Urban Mobility Study, examining the fuel (and time)
commuters waste because of congestion. The study, based on 2005
data (the most recent available), measures how many hours and
gallons of fuel are wasted per individual commuterwhether that
commuter is traveling by car, rail, bus or other form of
motorized transportationduring peak commute times.
Overall, traffic congestion costs the U.S. economy $78 billion a
year, wasting 2.9 billion gallons of fuel and robbing commuters
of 4.2 billion hours, the study found. Here are the top 10 most
wasteful cities in the country for commuters, based on fuel
usage, according to the institute:
(Excerpt) Read more at climate.weather.com ...
>”a grueling commute by car.”<
leftist dribble.
ever been on a los angeles bus when some armed brothers get on? at the next stop, everyone gets off the bus.
Honorable Mention: Philadelphia.
I-95 or the “Shore-Kill Expressway”. Takes years off your life.
Detroit - Bwhahahahaha!
The only traffic jam there is people with their Uhauls tring to get the hell out.
Somehow they missed liberal cess pool, Seattle.
LOL! the DC metro area made the list. What a shocker.
I do not know why Detroit is on the list. I have never had to drive longer than 20 minutes to get to work, and I have worked all over the metro area.
Chicago should be on that list.
Looks like California is one huge traffic jam.
I wonder how much would be saved?
I’d always heard that DC was #2, and previous studies of this sort have said the same thing. Having driven in other cities on the list, I’d certainly give DC the Number 2 rating, after LA.
That would be the ‘Sure-kill Expressway’...and I agree, because of it, Philly definitely deserves an honarable mention...
CHICAGO!
Thanks for the correction. I grew-up in the northern ‘burbs of Philly — Willow Grove area. I never got on the “Sure-Kill” much because of that. I-95 — all the time.
I now live out in Harrisburg, so it’s the “Shore-Kill”. The reason is that the only time I’m on it is to go Down-a-Shore.
How ‘bout the “Crash Ryan” in Chicongo?
6. Houston
Chicago
how could they miss that one
the radio stations have traffic reports at 2 in the morning
Oh RIGHT, like you would EVER take a bus in Los Angeles. Best to walk.
And much more so nowadays. I drove regularly in L.A. from '79 to '00 (mostly on the West side), and the traffic was always bad, topping every "worst traffic" list I ever read. Moved away in 2000, and friends kept telling me how much worse it'd gotten in a relatively short time (3 - 4 years). Didn't believe them. ....until I returned.
I just downloaded the excel data ... the data is rigged. The “average” commute of someone in NYC or DC is “longer” than the average commute of someone in Seattle. I really dont think so. East Coast cities were designed and grew up around urban life. West Coast cities are spread out and life is not urban centric. Mrs R and I had jobs where we each commuted 20 miles each way, in opposite directions. Seattle has a very unique challenge ... a huge population of commuters lives on the other side of a lake from Seattle, which automatically makes thier commutes a minimum of 6 miles each way, and the lake is only served by 2 bridges. There is only one N-S Freeway (I-5) in Seattle, 2 E-W Bridges (I-90 and 520), and 1 half-loop (I-405) around town. There is no other city in America as big with as little freeway. My current commute is 30 miles each way, each day.
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