Atlanta's infamous congestion isn't really all that infamous, according to one new analysis.
The TomTom Traffic Index, published Tuesday by the navigation company, says surprisingly that the metro area's congestion isn't bad, comparatively. Worldwide, it ranks only 93 out of 146 large cities in congestion level, behind Honolulu, Portland, Ore., and San José, Calif.
According to the index, Atlanta's congestion level — the measured increase in travel times versus an uncongested period — is 24 percent. That means that Atlanta traffic increases travel time by 24 percent, a figure on par with Las Vegas.
This may come as a shock for most commuters.
After all, a 2013 report by Urban Mobility, a premier source in such things, found that Atlanta had the seventh slowest traffic in the nation. (And as a recent report by the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings showed, Atlanta drivers have one of the longest typical commutes in the country.)
More strange and/or specific findings about the city from the index:
- Average delay per day with a 30-minute commute: 21 minutes.
- Average delay per year with a 30-minute commute, based on 230 work days: 80 hours.
- The most congested day of the year: Jan. 28, 2014 (a Tuesday).
- Worst week day for the morning commute: Wednesday.
- Best week day for the morning commute: Friday.
- Worst week day for the evening commute: Friday.
- Best week day for the evening commute: Monday.
The index measures travel time for a whole day, drawing on speed measurements and GPS data from its historical traffic database and from partners; and includes info about each city's congestion level, average delay, total highway length and more.
Its Atlanta sample size is expressed as total distance driven for the year, or about 14 million miles. It's not clear how the index defines the city, and how much of that definition includes the larger metro area.
Read more about the index methodology here and see the complete Atlanta analysis here.
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