Atlanta was #2, LA was #3, SF was #4 (been there and done that - it's a nightmare), and Houston rounds out the top 5.
1. Washington, D.C.
- Annual delays per traveler: 60 hours
- Commutes longer than 45 minutes: 28.3%
Count me among those with a commute of more than 45 minutes (I could make it to work in 45 minutes -- if you take 4/5 of the cars off the road and tell all of the cops to take a hike). My commute to work is roughly 75-90 minutes, unless the weather is bad, then it can be up to 3 hours. The commute home is M-U-C-H worse - 90 minutes to 1 1/4 hours in good weather, up to 3 1/2 hours in bad.
I think the estimate of 60 hours of annual delays is on the low side. I think I lost that much time just since January.
But don't think for one second that the socialist-leaning State, County, or City governments of this region are going to lift a finger to build new roads! Heaven forfend! Oh wait, they don't believe in Heaven. Never mind. Their answer to gawd-awful commutes is (and will be) always, "Let them take mass transit!" But that's not an answer to L-O-N-G commutes. I can fight traffic and make it to work in 90 minutes. Or I can catch a MARC train to downtown DC, switch over to the Metro Red Line for 2 stops, switch over to the Orange line, catch a Metro bus from Merrifield, and get here in...I don't even want to think about it. My best guess, given my years of extensive experience riding Metro - 1 1/2 hours on the best of days. In other words, roughly double the hell commute time I have now.
"Let them take mass transit!" indeed!
We're #1! We're #1! We're #1!
