Traffic in Atlanta is a nightmare. Commutes are so bad I’ve had clients tell me that they want to retire early so they can ditch their drive. Unless you work from home and don’t go anywhere from Monday at 8 am until Friday at 8 pm, you know what I’m talking about.
Turns out, there are numbers to confirm our traffic headaches. A new study shows that Atlanta drivers spend more time in their car than commuters in almost every other big city, including LA and New York.
How much time? Atlanta area residents average almost two hours commuting each day, according to the report from the safe-driving app Drivemode.
The data show that Atlanta motorists can spend an average of 53 minutes in the car if they head onto the highways shortly after 4 p.m. The good news (if you can call it that) is that drivers who don’t leave until 6 pm spend about 15% less time on their way home, says the report.
On the way into work, the Atlanta drivers who leave between 6 am and 7 am spend about 50 minutes on the road. Those who wait until 9 am or 10 am to head to the office spend around 48 minutes in the car.
And get this: during Atlanta’s 8 to 9 am rush hour, it takes an average of 2.3 minutes to drive a single mile. This figure increases to 2.5 minutes between 5 and 6 pm.
Some efforts are going on around town to help ease our traffic woes. The interchange of 400 and I-285 is being upgraded. In Gwinnett, a transit expansion referendum could find its way to an upcoming countywide ballot, which might extend a MARTA rail line in that direction.
Will these steps help? Who knows? I think what they should be working on is teleportation technology to eliminate the need to drive in Atlanta at all. Beam me up, Scottie.
