Commuting and Traffic Congestion Fast Facts

Metro Atlanta commuters spend more on gas each year than anyone else in the country—an average of $5,772 per household. (Sperling’s Best Places, “Pain at the Pump,” May 2006)
According to the Texas Transportation Institute’s Urban Mobility 2010 study, the average metro Atlanta commuter wastes an average of 41 hours a year stuck in traffic.
- The 41 wasted hours are in addition to “normal” commuting time.
- This gridlock costs Atlanta commuters almost $3 billion in time and fuel—roughly $1,100 per commuter, per year.

With an average commute distance of 35 miles in metro Atlanta, individuals that commute alone spend approximately $20 per day, $430 per month for their transportation to and from the office. (Based on AAA's 2010 national average cost per mile of 56.0 cents per mile for operating and ownership costs, when a vehicle is driven 15,000 miles/year.)
Every additional 30 minutes a person spends in a car translates into a three percent greater chance of being obese. (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, "Obesity Relationships with Community Design, Physical Activity, and Time Spent in Cars.”)

Of all metro Atlanta commute trips in a week, 82 percent are driven alone, and the average one-way travel time for metro Atlanta commuters is 30 minutes. (2010 Regional Commuter Survey, Center for Transportation and the Environment on behalf of Georgia Dept. of Transportation)
On any given work day, 400,000 Atlanta commuters are using alternatives to driving alone. That's enough commuters to fill Turner Field eight times.
A study released in 2006 shows that metro Atlanta is one of only four metro areas where carpooling increased between 1990 and 2000. (Commuting in America III, Transportation Research Board, 2006)

600,000 metro Atlantans telework on at least an occasional basis, making telework the primary go-to option among those using alternatives to driving alone. Of those, 336,000 telework at least one day a week. That's equal to the total daily average traffic volume headed in both directions on Atlanta's downtown connector. (2010 Regional Commuter Survey, Center for Transportation and the Environment on behalf of Georgia Dept. of Transportation)
Roughly eight percent of American workers have an employer that allows them to telework one day per month. (Source: Telework Trendlines for 2006, WorldatWork)