A new report indicates that traffic congestion is taking its toll on urban motorists, who are re-evaluating the time spent getting to and from work.

The average driver in the United States spends more than 100 hours a year commuting. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 American Community Survey, 88 percent of workers in the U.S. drive to work and 3.4 million workers face “extreme commutes” of 90+ minutes each day.

The average delay due to roadway traffic is one hour. In Washington D.C. alone, the average delay is 74 minutes.

It is inevitable that commuters will at some point experience traffic congestion-associated stress, frustration and downright rage.

A new paper from IBM indicates that the recession is taking its toll on urban motorists, who are re-evaluating the time spent getting to and from work. The results of the second annual IBM Commuter Pain survey, released this month, highlight the reactions of more than 4,000 drivers in 10 major U.S. cities to better understand the impact of traffic congestion on the nation’s commuters.

More than one-fifth of daily commuters say the recession has made them change the way they get to work, with 17 percent of drivers in this category carpooling more frequently, 30 percent increasing the number of days they work from home and 26 percent taking public transportation more often.

IBM’s findings portray the American commuter as looking for ways to spend more time with family and friends — preferably while not in their vehicles. If commuting time could be reduced, 52 percent would spend it with family/friends, a nine-point increase from 2008; 37 percent say they would exercise more, six points higher than last year.

Until commuting times drop, frustration levels will continue to rise: 45 percent identify start-stop traffic as the most frustrating part of the commute, up from 37 percent last year; and 32 percent claim it is aggressive/rude drivers, up from 24 percent last year.

Driving trips canceled due to anticipated traffic frustrations have had a significant economic impact. IBM’s findings indicate that 34 percent of motorists decided not to make a driving trip in the last month. Reported purposes for these canceled trips: 25 percent recreation, 25 percent shopping, 16 percent entertainment, 9 percent eating out, 8 percent work and 6 percent vacation.

“Conducted at a time of great change in the United States, the Commuter Pain survey clearly demonstrates the vast impact that commuting and traffic congestion have on our economy,” Anne Altman, general manager of IBM’s global public sector, said in an announcement of the findings.

“For years, growth, prosperity and opportunity encouraged Americans to flock to big cities and urban areas around the country — more than 70 percent of our U.S. population now lives in cities — and our infrastructures can no longer keep up with the demand that naturally comes along with a population increase,” the report says.

The 2009 Urban Mobility Report, from the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), revealed that in 2007, congestion caused urban Americans to not only travel 4.2 billion hours more (nearly one full workweek for every traveler), but also buy an extra 2.8 billion gallons of fuel, or three weeks’ worth of gas for every traveler.

The total 2007 cost (based on lost productivity and wasted fuel), came in at $87.2 billion — a 50 percent increase over the previous decade.

While lower gas prices and the recession have likely brought a slight reduction in traffic, TTI warns that the slowdown in congestion growth will be temporary: “When the economy rebounds, expect traffic problems to do the same.”

To alleviate the congestion crisis, experts are calling for a combination of traditional methods coupled with innovation and political policy.

“The time has come for cities and states to embrace real, long-term solutions that unclog our nation’s roadways,” Altman says.

Altman’s views are shared by a recent report from Ernst & Young and the Urban Land Institute, which recommended:

A comprehensive strategy is needed that accounts for population growth, rapid urbanization and declining mobility throughout urban areas. New transport networks must interconnect more efficiently to move people and goods through increasingly congested global pathway cities.

Commuters, too, will have to do their part. Continued use of public transportation and carpooling will help ease the burden on our transportation infrastructure.

According to the Census Bureau’s 2007 American Community Survey, 10 percent of U.S. workers carpool, with another 5 percent taking public transportation. The same report says that 76 percent of workers drive alone to work. In 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says, 21 percent of employed people did some or all of their work at home.

“The best solutions are going to be those in which actions by transportation agencies are complemented by businesses, manufacturers and commuters,” TTI researcher Tim Lomax said in a statement. “There’s a mindset that says that this is a city government’s job or a state DOT’s job, but the problem is far too big for transportation agencies alone to address it adequately.”

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Resources

IBM Commuter Pain
IBM, Sept. 4, 2009

Drivers Buffeted By Recession
IBM, Sept. 4, 2009

2007 American Community Survey
U.S. Census Bureau

2009 Annual Urban Mobility Report
Texas Transportation Institute, July 8, 2009

Economic Factors Tap the Brakes on Traffic Congestion
Texas Transportation Institute, July 8, 2009

Infrastructure 2009: Pivot Point
by Jonathan D. Miller
Ernst & Young/Urban Land Institute, April 20, 2009

American Time Use Survey Summary – 2008
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 24, 2009

America’s Top Five Transportation Headaches – and Their Remedies
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and TRIP, Jan. 14, 2009