Study Shows Evening Rush Hour Adds Nearly 50% More Time to Americans' Commute

~ TomTom Traffic Index reveals most congested cities in the U.S.; Los Angeles continues to have the worst traffic in America

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Mar 31, 2015, 05:00 ET

BURLINGTON, Mass., March 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, TomTom (TOM2) released its 5^th annual Traffic Index, the most accurate measurement of traffic congestion in over 200 cities worldwide. In addition to revealing rising congestion levels around the globe, for the first time, the Index took an in-depth look at the true impact of rush hour traffic during the work week, uncovering that people spend 46% more time in their cars compared to free-flow traffic.

Additional highlights of the 2014 study include:

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, New York and Seattle, respectively, are the top five most congested cities in the U.S., based on analysis of 12 trillion data points
For the top 10 US cities the average overall congestion is now 30%, a 5% increase from 2012
New York congestion increased this year, resulting in a move up in the rankings from 6^th to 4^th most congested
In general, Thursday is the most congested evening commute, except in Honolulu and New York, where Friday shows the highest congestion

The high levels of congestion are due in part to the traditional work week, giving people no choice but to all be on the road network at the exact same time. By adopting more flexible schedules, individuals save travel time and rush hour congestion can be reduced overall.

"TomTom's mission is to reduce traffic congestion for everyone," said Jocelyn Vigreux, President of TomTom, Inc. "Our traffic data shows that there are opportunities for businesses, road authorities and drivers to use TomTom's real-time traffic information to help ease the impact of rush hour traffic for road users every day. In addition to recognizing the impact of rush hour traffic, the TomTom Traffic Index can help road authorities measure the performance of their network and pinpoint areas where traffic flow can be improved."

Top 10 Most Congested Cities

Rank	City	Overall Congestion Level 2014	Overall Congestion Level 2013	Rank	City	Overall Congestion Level 2014	Overall Congestion Level 2013
1	Los Angeles	39%	36%	6	San Jose	30%	26%
2	San Francisco	34%	32%	7	Miami	27%	24%
3	Honolulu	32%	29%	8	Chicago	27%	22%
4	New York	31%	26%	9	Washington, DC	27%	24%
5	Seattle	31%	27%	10	Portland	26%	22%

Additional Insight Into Rush Hour Traffic

Commuters in Los Angeles experience the worst traffic congestion overall, the evening rush hour is no exception. The average 30 minute drive in LA will take 54 minutes during evening rush hour, leading to an extra 92 hours wasted in traffic annually.

Top Ten Cities with the Worst Evening Rush Hour:

Rank	City	Evening Congestion Level	Overall Congestion Level	Rank	City	Evening Congestion Level	Overall Congestion Level
1	Los Angeles	80%	39%	6	San Francisco	68%	34%
2	San Jose	75%	30%	7	Portland	61%	26%
3	Seattle	74%	31%	8	Austin	61%	25%
4	Honolulu	68%	32%	9	Atlanta	59%	24%
5	Houston	68%	25%	10	Chicago	59%	22%

To find out more information on the Traffic Index, including the complete data and individual city reports please visit: www.tomtom.com/trafficindex

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Notes to Editors:

This year TomTom has expanded its Traffic Index to 218 cities in 36 countries. For the first time, the Index includes traffic information for China, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in one comprehensive report.

TomTom has analyzed the average amount of delay a driver experiences during peak times of traffic congestion in the morning and evening, which are typical commuting hours. By comparing this to free flow traffic the true impact of traffic congestion for the average commuter.

About TomTom

TomTom (TOM2) empowers movement. Every day millions of people around the world depend on TomTom to make smarter decisions. We design and develop innovative products that make it easy for people to keep moving towards their goals. Best known for being a global leader in navigation and mapping products, TomTom also creates GPS Sport Watches, as well as state-of-the-art fleet management solutions and industry-leading location-based products.

Our business consists of four customer-facing business units: Consumer, Automotive, Licensing and Telematics.

Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Amsterdam, we have 4,000 employees worldwide and sell our products in over 46 countries.

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SOURCE TomTom