These kinds of surveys pop up regularly and at one time just about every major megalopolis has topped a “worst commute” list of some kind.

In this study, TheStreet and Bundle set out to determine how much people spend each year for transportation and what cities are the worst in terms of expenses. It also considered the average commute length, miles traveled and annual hours delayed.

It did not consider how many time you give, or receive, a one-finger salute in traffic.

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According to Bundle’s data, the average American spends more than $6,000 annually in transportation costs: gasoline, wear and tear on your car, and so forth.

The overall cost of fuel and productivity lost to commuting reached $87.2 billion in 2007, according to a study by the Texas Transportation Institute that tracked traffic patterns in 439 U.S. urban areas. That comes to more than $750 for every commuter in the country, folks. We wasted 2.8 billion gallons of fuel and lost 4.2 billion hours slogging through traffic.

Some places are worse than others, and according to Bundle’s list, Dallas has the worst commute. People there spend an average of 28 minutes commuting each way and $400 a year month on auto expenses. They also lose about 53 hours annually.

Rounding out the top 10 worst commutes are San Jose, California; Houston, Miami, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Bridgeport, Connecticut; Riverside, California; Austin, Texas; and Orlando, Florida.

At the other end, Eugene, Oregon, had the best commute. Folks there spend an average of 17 minutes commuting each way and $229 on auto expenses. They lose 11 hours annually.

Rounding out the 10 rosiest commutes are Brownsville, Texas; Toledo, Ohio; Laredo, Texas; Anchorage, Alaska; Spokane, Washington; Beaumont, Texas; Boulder, Colorado; Akron, Ohio; and Buffalo, New York.

There’s a lot more interesting info over at Bundle.

Photo the Dallas skyline: Rdoke / Flickr

See Also:

• You Only Think Your Commute Sucks
• 9-Day Traffic Jam Stretches 62 Miles
• Commute Driving You Crazy? Read On
• A Lot More People Are Biking to Work
• High-Speed Rail Takes a Shellacking
• High-Speed Rail As a Conduit of Sprawl

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Authors: Chuck Squatriglia

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