It's a headache all drivers dread when hitting the road — the exasperating, slow crawl of traffic. Those hours spent sitting in the car are not only frustrating, but also costing drivers thousands of dollars.
The INRIX 2023 Global Traffic Scorecard found that on average, Boston drivers spent about 88 hours in traffic during 2023. Boston ranked the eighth-highest city for traffic delay times in the world — coming in at the fourth-highest throughout the country.
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The study says the busiest area in the city happens along Interstate 93 southbound between the Zakim Bridge and Pilgrims Highway at 3 p.m.
And time equals money, with those additional hours stuck in traffic totaling up to $1,543 in lost time and productivity for Boston drivers.
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Reggie Ramos, executive director of the Transportation for Massachusetts advocacy group, says the city needs to encourage residents to switch to public transportation.
"There's also generally this lack of policy towards pushing people to take other modes of transit other than their cars," he said.
With congestion pricing being considered for areas with high traffic volume like New York, and currently used internationally in Singapore, Stockholm and London, Ramos says this might be a viable option to empty out the busy streets.
"Anybody who has been stuck in Boston traffic knows it's time to seriously explore congestion pricing," Ramos said.
Mayor Michelle Wu says in the meantime, the city is exploring ways to curb traffic using technology, pinpointing hot spots in the city in an effort to improve traffic enforcement.
