We’ve covered the worst commutes in America — and, to be fair, they’re pretty horrific. But they barely hold a candle compared to cities in the rest of the rapidly-developing world. Wired’s Chuck Squatriglia reports:
Quit whining about your commute. It isn’t that bad, even for you Angelinos and New Yorkers. Your daily slog through traffic is nothing compared to Moscow, where people might spend more than three hours sucking exhaust fumes while going nowhere fast.
Even that pales compared to New Dehli, where 96 percent of drivers say their commute is so hellish it harms their health. And you’ll get no sympathy in Beijing, where traffic can get so bad that almost 7 out of 10 drivers have at some point said, “Screw this” and gone home.
Number-crunchers at IBM Research surveyed 8,192 motorists in 20 cities, and — no surprise — most of them think traffic has only grown worse during the past three years. More than half said gridlock has wreaked havoc on their physical or mental health. One-third said it is undercutting their productivity at work or school.
The Big Blue then used the survey results to compile a full “Pain Index,” seen above. It’s a combination of 10 criteria, including the total amount of time spent sitting in traffic, how much worse traffic has gotten in recent years, and how many times commuters have simply given up and headed home.
IBM correctly identifies one of the key problems for the most congested areas: They occur in regions where the economy is fast outpacing the infrastructure. Take India, where car sales are at an all-time high, due to the rapid growth of the middle class — a group that’s ready and willing to spend money on a new car. Meanwhile, the country’s roads and infrastructure systems are in no way prepared for the sudden onslaught of new vehicles — and the results are pretty appalling.
Add to that an additional problem: The congestion nightmare can’t be solved in these countries simply by building new roads (a topic we’ve explored in the past). Rather, we’re going to need new strategies and technologies to really make a difference. The good news is that some progress is being made. The bad news — well, try leaving your house in the morning in New Delhi.
Image: Courtesy IBM
June 30th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Highlights the fact that a transportation system based on the private automobile is simply not scalable to the extent we would need it to be for it to be a feasible single option. There HAVE to be strong incentives for people to not use cars, we simply don’t have the space for everyone to have one (or two or three) and drive it (them) all the time.
June 30th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Great Article! There is no surprise that Bejing is number 1.On another note check out Auto Shipping Network out.They are a great company and always on time
June 30th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
[...] The World’s Worst Commutes Jump to Comments In the Des Moines metropolitan area, people sometimes voice their frustrations when a few minutes are added to their commutes. If you are one of these individuals, be thankful that you do not live in Moscow, where commutes may take three hours to complete. Check out more on Moscow and other cities’ commuting challenges here. [...]
June 30th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Wait a sec. Is this measuring DRIVING commutes only? I find it hard to believe that it’s a worse commute to take the Subway to work in NYC or Metro in Paris or Undeground in London than it is to drive to work through the wastelands of Houston. But if you’re measuring car trips only, then of course it’s worse: you’d be stupid to try driving in those cities. That’s why most people don’t.
June 30th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
Mark is right. Look at Paris on that list….why would you ever drive in paris? Beijing, Mexico City and Moscow also have great subway systems. So no, these arent the worst commutes in the world, they’re the worst AUTOMOBILE commutes. From what I remember, in cities like NYC, the majority commute by public transport, so why is IBM so quick to talk about what a small minority of commuters have to deal with?
July 1st, 2010 at 12:22 am
Incorrect JJ. While Beijing has a much improved subway system (for example in 2003 there were only 2 subway lines, presently there are 7 operating now and plans for/or building of about 15 more lines by 2015) it is no where near the convenience and efficiency of NYC’s system. Yes, feel free to laugh at the end of that last statement BUT it’s true. In addition, the subways here aren’t 24 hours.
Even with the subways in Beijing or for that matter any city in this country the norm is that you will be crammed in with a lot of other sweaty, smelly humans and probably have an armpit or two in your face. It’s like the 7 train in Queens times 10 in terms of people in one subway car. Regardless of the number of lines built the numbers of inhabitants in this city are growing exponentially at a higher rate.
So much for a city of bikes! Although, riding a bike in Beijing is quite detrimental to your lungs it is quite an adventure because of crappy driving skills and drivers who just generally ignore the rules. Routinely it is common that the bike lanes and bus lines are one in the same as well. Hot summer days + bus exhaust = short-term headache and probably long-term lung issues.
July 1st, 2010 at 11:24 am
[...] your commute is bad? Check out INFASTRUCTURIST’S list of the worst commutes in the [...]
July 1st, 2010 at 3:29 pm
How is congestion bad? Congestion makes non-automobile alternatives viable, desired, preferred, and attractive.
Congestion is GOOD.
July 1st, 2010 at 5:26 pm
what about places like the bay area in california? the east bay has I-880 (AKA The Trail of Tears) on which it can take a good 3 hours to get from San Jose to Oakland on at times. Hell, our carpool requires 3 people or more!
July 21st, 2010 at 1:08 pm
This actually gives me a bit of hope. Perhaps the developing world will feel the pain of automobile-based commuting before they ever perceive any benefits—and decide not to repeat America’s fatal infrastructural error.