Worst Cities For Rush Hour Traffic Worldwide

Traffic congestion costs drivers hours of lost time and economic productivity. Right away, I can visualise jam-packed roads in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. And not to mention, the same with Bangkok in Thailand, Jakarta in Indonesia and Manila in Philippines.

 

Traffic can serve as an economic indicator, as the flow of people, goods, and services drives the demand for road travel, reflecting underlying economic activity. But when this demand surpasses the available road capacity, it leads to congestion, time lost in traffic, and often rising frustration.

 

The chart below shows the 15 worst cities around the world for traffic congestion in 2023, ranked by the average number of hours lost to traffic congestion per driver when driving during peak commute hours compared to driving during off-peak hours in 2023. Data comes from the INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard 2023.

 

And I am pleasantly surprised that the above-mentioned Southeast Asian cities are not even listed! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to INRIX, drivers in New York had it the worst. On average, drivers in The Big Apple lost 101 hours to traffic jams in 2023, costing more than $1,700 in lost time and productivity.

 

In the U.S., traffic delays cost the typical driver more than $733 in lost time, or $70 billion nationwide in 2023.