It’s getting easier to travel on the nation’s roadways, but traffic congestion is still eating up plenty of time for frustrated drivers in major cities like LA, San Francisco, New York and Seattle. A report out today from INRIX found that traffic congestion declined by 30 percent last year, with 70 of the top 100 cities in the country experiencing reductions in commute times.
That followed an increase of 10 percent in 2010. The cities that showed the biggest drop in congestion — Honolulu, LA and San Francisco — had gas prices that exceeded the national average.
Nonetheless, Americans are still spending a lot of time stuck on the roadways. Here’s a look at the top 10 cities for congestion with the number of hours that people spend stuck in their cars each year:
1. Honolulu (58 hours)
2. Los Angeles (56 hours)
3. San Francisco (48 hours)
4. New York (57 hours)
5. Bridgeport, CT (42 hours)
6. Washington, D.C. (45 hours)
7. Seattle (33 hours)
8. Austin (30 hours)
9. Boston (35 hours)
10. Chicago (36 hours)
And, just in case you were wondering, the worst time to be on the road in Seattle is Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Across the country, the worst traffic day happens to be Friday, and the best traffic day is Monday.
INRIX, the Kirkland provider of real-time traffic analysis data, also used the report to release a new iPhone and iPad app that’s designed to help drivers pick the best departure times as well as find the fastest routes home or to work. Kevin Foreman, vice president of consumer applications at INRIX, said the new app is like putting “100 million traffic reporters into the palm of your hand.”
