Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)
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Table 4-13
Roadway Delay and Congestion Cost per Peak Travelera in Urban Areas: 1993 and 2003

Annual Roadway Delay per Peak Traveler

(Hours per year)

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  1993 delay per peak traveler 2003 delay per peak traveler Percentage change 1993-2003 Annual growth rate 1993-2003
Very large areas 55 61 11 1.0
Large areas 28 37 32 2.8
Medium areas 15 25 67 5.2
Small areas 9 13 44 3.7
85-area average 40 47 18 1.6

Annual Roadway Congestion Cost per Peak Traveler

(Current dollars)

  1993 cost per peak traveler 2003 cost per peak traveler Percentage change 1993-2003 Annual growth rate 1993-2003
Very large areas 719 1,038 44 3.7
Large areas 374 620 66 5.2
Medium areas 199 418 110 7.7
Small areas 118 222 88 6.5
85-area average 523 794 52 4.3

a A peak traveler is estimated to travel from 6:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Key:

Very large = over 3 million population (e.g., New York-Northern New Jersey).

Large = 1 million-3 million population (e.g., Atlanta).

Medium = selected areas with 500,000-1 million population (e.g., Memphis).

Small = selected areas under 500,000 population (e.g., Colorado Springs).

Note: See Glossary for definitions of delay and congestion cost.

Source: Texas Transportation Institute, 2005 Urban Mobility Report, "Base Statistics for the 85 Urban Areas" spreadsheet, available at http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/congestion_data/tables/complete_data.xls, as of September 2005.