Chicago Drivers Spent More Than 2 Days In Traffic In 2021: Study

CHICAGO — Commuters in Chicago could have made a cross-country trek through the U.S. in the amount of time they spent stuck in traffic on Illinois highways last year, according to a new analysis of traffic patterns in 80 U.S. cities.

Chicago ranked No. 6 nationally on geolocation mapping software maker TomTom’s Traffic Index of most-congested cities. Commuters lost 55 hours to jammed-up traffic in 2021 — on average about 24 percent more time getting where they were going than if they were in uncongested traffic.

Globally, traffic congestion in Chicago ranked 149th among 404 cities in 58 countries. But other U.S. cities had it even worse, with New York drivers losing more than three days to traffic congestion.

Overall, traffic was higher in 2021 than it was in 2020, when stay-at-home orders kept so many people off the highways that air quality improved, but only slightly. The global congestion level is still 10 percent lower than before the pandemic, according to the report.

Some other findings:

• Istanbul, Turkey, is the world’s most congested city. With a congestion level of 62 percent, motorists there lose an average of 142 hours a year in backed up traffic
• New York City is the most congested U.S. city. With a congestion level of 35 percent, New Yorkers lose an average of 80 hours a year in backed-up traffic. The city ranks 43rd in the world for traffic congestion.
• Rush hour has shifted in a third of cities worldwide, including in the United States. In general, congestion decreased in the morning and evening rush hours in U.S. cities, but was similar to 2019 levels around midday and at night.
• In London, traffic congestion put an additional 2.2 megatonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere in 2021. Data was tracked in only four European cities — London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris. The report also looked at the effect of electric vehicles on air pollution.