Atlanta has third-worst commute in America

Many Georgia State students can tell you how bad Atlanta traffic is, but there is some good news. Atlanta traffic is not the worst, but it is the third-worst commute among the nation’s 60 largest metro areas. Only Detroit, Michigan and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida were worse.

Residents of those three cities “endure the most grueling slog to work,” Forbes’ Francesca Levy wrote. 

A 2009 study by the Texas Transpiration Institute’s Urban Mobility showed that the average Atlanta commuter spends around 57 hours a year stuck in traffic, which is about 2.3 days.

Only 13 percent of Atlanta commuters use alternative transportation or commute to get into the city, according to Forbes. The rest of the commuters endure traffic that can last a few hours on bad days.

One student said “I live around 25 minutes away from school, but with the traffic it normally takes me over an hour or more to get to school. I get really lucky if I can get to school in an hour.”  

Georgia Navigator said Atlanta-area commuters log more than 100 million vehicle miles traveled each business day. Commuters spend more money on gas each year than anyone else in the entire nation. This gridlock costs Atlanta commuters around $3 billion in time and fuel, or about $1,257 per commuter per year, according to the Clean Air Campaign.

Only 29 percent of Atlanta commuters get to and from their desired destinations in less than 20 minutes, according to Forbes. “The traffic is horrible here,” one Georgia State student said. “Sometimes it takes 30 minutes to go a mile or two during rush hour.”

Forbes based its findings on three factors: the percentage of commuters who take an hour or more to get to work; the travel time index, which compares how long a commute takes during rush hour to the same trip in ideal conditions; and the percentage of commuters who carpool or use alternatives to driving like walking, biking, or using public transportation.

For more information about the rankings, visit Forbes.com.
 

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3 comments

English

Tue Mar 16 2010 15:02

Does this headline shock anyone? Really?

Marta Pedestrian

Sun Feb 28 2010 18:42

They ranked us as the most toxic city too.
10th most dangerous for pedestrians according to T4America.
and now 3rd worst commute.

Our state leaders can't seem to make the connection.

Michael Morgan

Fri Feb 26 2010 23:08

everybody knows the traffic here is terrible, but thanks for reminding me.

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