Is Boston traffic getting better? Congestion down 10%, study finds.
BOSTON – Boston has some of the worst traffic in the country. But there is also some good news on the roads, according to a new study.
INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard
INRIX, a transportation analytics and connected car services company, released its annual Global Traffic Scorecard.
The study found that the average Boston driver lost about 79 hours sitting in traffic in 2024, costing them about $1,414 for the year. The good news is that while the total means drivers lost more than three days of productivity due to traffic, that is a decrease of about 10% from 2023.
Boston was fourth worst in the United States and 12th in the world for traffic congestion overall, INRIX said.
Istanbul drivers lost 105 hours to congestion, topping the worldwide rankings. New York City and Chicago came in next at 102 hours.
A total of 10 cities in the United States made the Top 25 worst congested cities in the world list.
Boston Traffic
INRIX found that the average speed of a downtown trip in Boston was 13 mph, ranked second-slowest in the country.
Bob Pishue, transportation analyst for INRIX, said bicycle use is a factor in Boston decreasing its traffic congestion.
"Thousands more Bostonians decided to commute by bike, more so than a lot of other major metro areas. So that's a big uptick," he said.
The city pushed to expand those bike lanes in 2024.
According to INRIX, Interstate 93 South between the Charles River and Route 3 is the second-most congested road in the country.
