Traffic Congestion Dipped In Major Cities In 2020: See How Much

ACROSS AMERICA — The coronavirus pandemic caused a noticeable reprieve in traffic congestion in the largest American cities last year, but frustrated drivers still spent a significant amount of time delayed in their cars in 2020.

Nationally, commuter traffic in 2020 dropped by almost half compared to the year prior in the 15 cities detailed in the recently released 2021 Urban Mobility Report, a yearly study from the Texas A&M University Transportation Institute.

“Congestion was flattened in 2020,” the report states.

Traffic in 2020 was like having four distinct traffic years all in one, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute said in a news release.

In January and February, things looked a lot like the previous year. From March through May, the coronavirus shutdown “produced roadway scenes not seen since George H.W. Bush was president and postage stamps cost a quarter,” the report states.

From June through August, when some rush hour traffic returned, By September, delay conditions neared normal rates and remained that way through the end of the year.

“The underlying elements of traffic problems – too many car trips, too much rush-hour roadwork, crashes, stalled vehicles and weather issues – have not receded,” Tim Lomax, one of the report’s authors, said in the news release. “What’s different is that those elements have been eclipsed by plummeting traffic volume.”

Los Angeles, which in recent years stood at the top of the report’s most congested cities, ranked No. 4 this year. The city also tied with San Francisco in delay per commuter. New York City, Boston and Houston all had higher delay times than the City of Angels that year.

In New York, commuters spent an average of 56 hours in traffic during 2020.

Moving forward, don’t expect to see the same trends from a year ago. Traffic across the nation has mostly returned to pre-pandemic levels, the report’s authors said, citing Texas as an example.

“Congestion levels in Texas and much of the rest of the country have rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels,” Marc Williams, executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, said in the news release. “In Texas, we continue to see the same underlying causes — a growing population and economy that is producing more passenger vehicle and truck traffic on roadways throughout the state.”