The average San Diego car commuter is spending a record 88 hours annually stuck in traffic amid changes in when and why we drive, a new report finds.
Why it matters: The findings put some hard data behind a common feeling among many drivers: Traffic has been getting worse — or at least different — since the COVID-19 pandemic.
- That 88 hours lost to San Diego traffic is the most since 1982, when the dataset begins, and it’s up 24 hours a year since 2019.
Driving the news: Congestion is once again growing in many cities after a pandemic-era dip, while driver behavior has also changed, per the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s 2025 Urban Mobility Report.
- The report defines such delays as “the extra time spent during the year traveling at congested speeds rather than free-flow speeds by private vehicle drivers and passengers who typically travel in the peak periods.”
Traditional rush hours are returning, but there’s also been a “noticeable rise in midday congestion,” the report finds, possibly tied to remote and hybrid work changing people’s schedules and travel behaviors.
- Thursday has overtaken Friday with the highest share of delay — perhaps “because some of the Friday travel is not associated with commuting, whereas Thursday has more of a typical commute pattern.”
The big picture: It’s getting harder to predict when it’ll be busy out on the roads, leading to “added traveler frustration,” as the report puts it.
Zoom in: San Diego wasn’t the only city with a big increase. Among California metros with at least 500,000 residents, the “yearly delay per auto commuter” grew notably between 2019 and 2024 in San Francisco (+31 hours), Riverside (+31) and Concord (+30)…