Vancouver’s traffic has edged out Los Angeles’s infamous gridlock for the most congested city in North America, according to a new ranking by a European navigation and traffic management company.
The latest 2013 TomTom Travel Index showed Vancouver travel times were 36 per cent longer at peak hours than during non-rush hours, one per cent higher than Los Angeles.
According to the index, which rates traffic in 169 cities worldwide, Vancouver’s congestion has increased 2.8 per cent from the 2012 rate of 32.7 per cent, which put the city in seventh place.
The cumulative effect of all this traffic for the average commuter with a 30-minute trip is an extra 93 hours, or more than 11 working days, spent behind the wheel each year.
In Vancouver this year, June 30 was the worst day for traffic congestion.
Generally, Mondays are the best traffic days and Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings the worst, the study revealed.
The top cities for traffic congestion in North America are:
1. Vancouver
2. Los Angeles
3. San Francisco
4. Honolulu
5. Seattle
6. San Jose
7. Toronto
8. Washington
9. New York
10. Montreal