Does Sitting in Traffic Really Cost Texans $1,500 A Year?

Our weekly check in with the Texas Truth-O-Meter.

By Alain StephensDecember 2, 2015 9:38 am

No fact check is required here: Texas roadways are congested. And according to Gov. Greg Abbott, time spent in traffic is costing every Texan up to $1,500 a year.

But is that a fact?

Driving us towards the truth is Gardner Selby of PolitiFact Texas.

Two weeks before the Nov. 3, 2015, election, Gov. Abbott penned an op-ed that ran in the Dallas Morning News on Oct. 16, 2015, and again in the Austin American- Statesman three days later, urging voters to support a state constitutional proposition to funnel more dollars to funding Texas roads.

“Road congestion costs rush-hour drivers in Austin and Dallas more than $1,000 a year,” Abbott said. “And in Houston, it’s even more – almost $1,500 a year.”

See how his claim rated in the audio player above.