Transportation data and analytics firm INRIX, Inc. just released its 2024 global traffic scorecard and things are not looking great for Chicagoans. According to the study, which identified and ranked congestion and commuting trends in 1,000 cities around the world, Chicago is actually the third most trafficked city on the planet.
Turns out that residents actually lost a total of 102 hours of their lives to traffic last year, a figure that amounts to about $1,800 in wasted time.
To come up with the ranking, the company looked at a variety of factors, including travel delay comparisons, last mile speeds and travel trends based on local commuting patterns.
Although things are obviously pretty bad in Chicago, Istanbul in Turkey actually took the top spot on the list, followed by New York. The top five is rounded out by Mexico City and London.
In addition to the global survey, the study also looked at the most congested roads in the U.S. and five Chicago streets had the honor of being mentioned: I-55 from I-90 to S Cicero Avenue, I-90 from Cicero Avenue to both W Fullerton Avenue and Ohio Street, I-290 from S Wolf Road to Harlem Avenue and I-90 from W Ontario Street to W Irving Park Road.
Basically, nowhere is safe, so you might as well load up your Spotify queue and enjoy the endless hours of music in your car each week.
10 most congested cities in the world
1. Istanbul
2. New York City
3. Chicago
4. Mexico City
5. London
6. Paris
7. Jakarta
8. Los Angeles
9. Cape Town
10. Brisbane