PHOENIX — Drivers in the Phoenix metro lost an average of 34 hours contending with traffic congestion in 2021, which was more than they lost the year before, but still less than in 2019’s pre-pandemic conditions.
The Valley ranked No. 58 among North American cities for congestion, according to the TomTom Traffic Index by technology company TomTom. With the removal of Mexico City, which led the pack, and eight Canadian cities ahead of Phoenix, the Valley lands at No. 49 among U.S. cities.
TomTom — a Dutch digital mapping company — evaluated 404 cities in 58 countries for its report, which uses travel time data from drivers who have the company’s technology in their automobile navigation devices, in-dash systems and smartphones. The company says its community comprises more than 600 million drivers and that more than 5 million vehicles sold in North America use its maps.
The report determined that the Phoenix metro had a 15% congestion level — meaning that travel times on average were 15% longer than during baseline conditions of free-flowing traffic. That means a 30-minute trip with no congestion will take five minutes longer when the congestion level is at 15%, the report said.
Read more of this story from the Phoenix Business Journal.
