Staying in a traffic jam - what could be more unpleasant for a motorist? Unfortunately, traffic jams are already common in big cities. INRIX, a provider of many traffic-related internet services and mobile applications, compiled ranking of cities in the world with the longest traffic jams... The study analyzed traffic situations in 1,064 megacities from 38 countries. The study did not rank cities in Japan and China because INRIX does not collect its data there.
This is what the top ten most congested cities on Earth look like.
10. Miami
The time that drivers spend in traffic jams annually is 65 hours.
In Miami, traffic congestion increases 40% during morning rush hours and 60% in the evening. The absence of shocks in the American economy, continued urbanization, increased employment and low gas prices contribute to an increase in the number of cars not only on the roads of Miami, but also other cities of the stronghold of democracy.
9. Paris
Traffic jam time - 65 hours.
There is little consolation for Parisians that they look at the bumper in front of the car less than residents of London or Moscow.
8. Atlanta
Traffic jams - 71 hours.
It is a popular city, where traffic jams cost motorists about $ 1,861 in lost profits. In general, losses from traffic jams for the city amount to about $ 3.1 billion.
7. London
Traffic jam time - 73 hours.
Despite the 2016 Brexit, UK fuel prices remained low and employment rose to an 11-year high. These reasons have influenced the intensity of traffic on London roads and contributed to the increase in the duration of the "absorption" of traffic jams.
6. Sao Paulo
Traffic jam time - 77 hours.
Brazil in general and Sao Paulo in particular are notorious for their traffic jams. The city even had to launch an Uber helicopter taxi service from the airport to the city center to withstand surprisingly long travel times. But despite such measures, Sao Paulo is consistently included in the list of the worst cities for motorists. On June 10, 2009, a 293-kilometer traffic jam was recorded there - the longest in urban history. It was the result of a huge number of people who wanted to leave the city on the eve of the feast of Corpus Christi, as well as the rain that did not stop for several hours. And, judging by the results of the INRIX study, the road situation in São Paulo has not improved over time.
5. Bogota
Traffic jams - 80 hours.
The capital of Colombia is known not only as a city of magnificent old churches, original sculptures on the rooftops and many museums (including the world's only Gold Museum with the largest collection of gold jewelry), but also as a city of eternal traffic jams. Therefore, if you decide to spend your vacation in Bogota, it is better to use buses (they run on dedicated lines) or walk.
4. San Francisco
Traffic jam time - 83 hours.
The city authorities argue that positive reasons for San Francisco are to blame for such long traffic jams - an increase in jobs and an active entrepreneurial activity.The disadvantages of these phenomena for the townspeople, in addition to traffic jams, include environmental pollution and possibly an increase in the blood pressure of all road users.
3. New York
Traffic jam time - 89 hours.
On the roads of the Big Apple, as they say, there is nowhere for an apple to fall. Traffic picks up in the summer, when about 2 million New Yorkers travel on summer weekends. In addition, the decline in oil prices has saved about 45 cents per gallon for motorists over the previous year, and has led to an increase in the number of cars on New York's roads. The worst days for New York City drivers are Friday and Monday. Many city dwellers try to avoid the suffering of long waiting times in traffic jams by resorting to alternative modes of transport. In New York, for example, almost a third of all city dwellers use public transportation. This is more than any other city in the United States.
2.Moscow
Traffic jam time - 91 hours.
The Russian capital is in second place in the top 10 megalopolises with the largest traffic jams in 2017. In the morning rush hour in Moscow, about 106% of the workload is recorded, and in the evening this figure rises to 138%. The worst traffic days were recorded in December 2016, when traffic on the streets was slowed down by heavy snowfall.
1. Los Angeles
Traffic jam time - 104 hours.
Los Angeles is second to none when it comes to getting stuck in traffic on the way to and from work. Road traffic in this city is higher than in San Francisco and New York. And the level of congestion on the road has grown by 10% over the past seven years. Back in 2013, drivers in Los Angeles were wasting not 104 hours, but 64 hours.
According to INRIX experts, traffic jams cost drivers an average of $ 1,400. The study authors also noted that the increased duration of traffic jams in 2016 reduced the quality of life in the surveyed cities, but the situation is unlikely to improve anytime soon.