New York City drivers are now America’s most unfortunate when it comes to escaping congestion: they spend a whopping ten days’ worth of time in traffic a year, according to the TomTom Traffic Index, which tracks congestion in major cities worldwide.
The data published last month showed that it took New York motorists 25 minutes to travel a mere six miles. That rate is a 90-second increase from 2021. They also travel just 12 miles per hour during peak travel times. The Big Apple’s bad congestion was followed closely by the nation’s capital, where it took DC drivers 20 minutes to travel six miles at an average speed of 14 mph.
But some in the Big Apple say the numbers don’t capture the agony of their travels.
Repairman Shawn Duncan, 51, said he is trapped in his car for almost three hours during his commute from Manhattan to Stamford, CT. He drives it during the night.
“The traffic in New York City is hectic. It’s horrible,” he told the New York Post.
The aim of the proposed, though highly controversial, congestion pricing that is frequently talked about, would be to reduce traffic in Manhattan and bolster public transit, though opponents say it would more severely affect lower-income drivers and probably also increase commuter traffic.
