SAN ANTONIO — Nobody likes to be stuck in traffic, but if you drive in Texas, this list might not come as a surprise to you. Four of Texas' major cities made it into the list of the Top 15 to avoid if you hate commuting.
A Hire A Helper study ranked the top cities in the United State you should avoid if you don't want to find yourself sitting still.
One of the few benefits of the COVID-19 pandemic was the dramatic reduction in vehicle traffic on our roadways. Stay-at-home orders, school closures, and working from home kept people at home and cars off the road. Then when workers returned to the office and businesses resumed their normal operations, traffic congestion started to rebound but is still well below pre-pandemic levels.
Long commute times and traffic can have a significant impact on a person's well-being, and often play a major role when you choose where you are going to live.
The study used data such as average one-way commute time, share of workers who use their own car, diversity of times people leave for work, how many households share a vehicle and population density to determine the cities with worst commutes.
San Antonio has a total score of 68.8 using their data. The average one-way commute time in the San Antonio area, which includes New Braunfels, is 25.8 minutes and almost 80% of workers use their own vehicle. Add in the population density of 355.8 people per square mile and we've got a problem, which is why we are number 14 on the list.
But Dallas, Houston and Austin have it way worse than us.
Houston, which includes The Woodlands and Sugar Land, comes in at number 7 on the list with a composite score of 72.6. The average one-way commute time in the Bayou City is 28.9 minutes. More folks live in Houston, with a population density of 871.6 people per square mile.
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area has a score of 75.0 and comes in at number six on the list. DFW's average one-way commute time is 27.3 minutes and their population density is 894.4 people per square mile.
The Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown area is apparently the worst in Texas with a score of 75.6. Commute-time in our capital city is 26.1 minutes one way. The population density is 557.5 people per square mile.
So what can you do to shorten or improve your commute?
- If possible, leave earlier - that usually means less people on the road.
- You can also try to switch up your route.
- Don't be afraid to pop a drive you routinely take into your GPS; it might show you a shorter route you're not as familiar with.
- Carpool is another option because on some highways, you can take the HOV lanes which usually aren't as congested as the main lanes.
- And almost always an option - consider public transportation.
The less of us on the roads, the faster the commute, so if you can - think about using it.