Boston Loses Title Of 'Worst Traffic Congestion' In U.S. Due To Pandemic

The Boston metro area has lost its title as the most traffic congested city in the United States.

According to the 2020 edition of INRIX’s annual scorecard released Tuesday, Boston dropped to fourth-worst among U.S. cities after two consecutive years of topping the list.

Drivers in the Boston metro area spent 68% fewer hours in traffic in 2020 than the previous year, which led to the city falling behind New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago on the national rankings and out of the top-25 global rankings.

The cost of Boston's congestion in 2020 was $711, which was $1,517 less than the $2,205 cost for drivers stuck in traffic in 2019, according to INRIX. The national average was $980 saved per driver, according to the data.

The overall number of vehicle miles traveled in the Boston area also decreased 26% from 2019 to 2020.

Boston has seen a significant decrease in traffic congestion since the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic began last year and is now seeing a slow recovery. While some smaller cities actually saw a spike in congestion, many major cities with dense urban cores saw significant drops as individuals who worked in downtown offices instead opted to work from home for most of 2020.

“Less commuting downtown means fewer people on the same road network going in the same direction,” INRIX report author Bob Pishue told Boston.com in an interview.

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