UCR July 2012-September 2012 (FY 2012, Q4)
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A Snapshot of Congestion Trends in the U.S. for July 2012 through September 2012.
Congested Hours
Average duration of weekday congestion
-1 minute
from last year
Jul-Sep 2012: 4:13
Jul-Sep 2011: 4:14
Travel Time Index
Peak period travel times vs. off-peak travel times
+1 point
from last year
Jul-Sep 2012: 1.20
Jul-Sep 2011: 1.19
Planning Time Index
Unreliability (variability) of travel
+4 points
from last year
Jul-Sep 2012: 1.46
Jul-Sep 2011: 1.42
Summary of Nationwide Trends
- Congested hours decreased slightly (1 minutes shorter), whereas the travel time index and planning time index worsened (by 1 point and 4 points, respectively). All measures compared the most recent 3 months in 2012 to the same 3 months in 2011.
- 5 of the 19 cities (26%) showed improvements in all three measures.
- 9 of the 19 cities (48%) showed worsening conditions in all three measures.
- 5 of the 19 cities (26%) had stable or mixed results among the three measures.
Congestion and Reliability Trends for Each UCR City
| City | Congested Hours | Travel Time Index | Planning Time Index | % Change in VMT | % Usable Data | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Change from 2011 | 2012 | Change from 2011 | 2012 | Change from 2011 | |||
| Atlanta, GA | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Boston, MA | 5:50 | +0:01 | 1.29 | +4 | 1.69 | +6 | 0% | 100% |
| Chicago, IL | 6:57 | -0:45 | 1.21 | -12 | 1.48 | -17 | -5% | 83% |
| Detroit, MI | 2:32 | -0:28 | 1.11 | -1 | 1.32 | -6 | -5% | 100% |
| Houston, TX | 4:10 | +1:33 | 1.30 | +13 | 1.70 | +42 | -2% | 92% |
| Los Angeles, CA | 6:09 | +0:36 | 1.27 | +3 | 1.55 | +7 | 0% | 99% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | 4:42 | +0:53 | 1.23 | +4 | 1.53 | +9 | 0% | 90% |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 1:20 | -0:41 | 1.06 | -1 | 1.18 | -2 | +4% | 100% |
| Orange County, CA | 3:51 | +0:18 | 1.21 | +3 | 1.45 | +3 | +1% | 99% |
| Philadelphia, PA | 4:30 | -0:59 | 1.18 | -3 | 1.50 | -10 | +2% | 100% |
| Phoenix, AZ | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 5:49 | -0:49 | 1.22 | -7 | 1.46 | -21 | +6% | 100% |
| Portland, OR | 1:53 | +0:02 | 1.26 | +1 | 1.61 | 0 | -6% | 32% |
| Providence, RI | 2:42 | -0:17 | 1.11 | 0 | 1.33 | +1 | +2% | 100% |
| Riverside – San Bernardino, CA | 2:43 | +0:21 | 1.10 | +1 | 1.24 | -1 | +1% | 99% |
| Sacramento, CA | 1:36 | -0:11 | 1.08 | 0 | 1.21 | +1 | 0% | 98% |
| St. Louis, MO | 4:43 | +1:37 | 1.07 | -1 | 1.20 | -3 | -1% | 96% |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 1:44 | +0:33 | 1.07 | +3 | 1.20 | +7 | +6% | 69% |
| San Antonio, TX | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| San Diego, CA | 2:24 | +0:16 | 1.11 | +1 | 1.29 | +2 | 0% | 99% |
| San Francisco, CA | 4:01 | +1:00 | 1.18 | +4 | 1.39 | +9 | -2% | 99% |
| Seattle, WA | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Tampa, FL | 3:13 | +0:15 | 1.15 | +4 | 1.40 | +11 | 0% | 100% |
Notes:
Green bolded values (with – sign) indicate improving conditions; red italics (with + sign) indicate worsening conditions.
"n.a." indicates that data was not available or was of insufficient quality.
Comparison of 2012 to 2011 is for the same three-month period (July - September).
For more information on the UCR, contact Rich Taylor (Rich.Taylor@dot.gov).
