Texas A&M’s Transportation Institute Study is Controversial, Here’s Why

The Standard further explores the highly controversial Texas A&M Transportation Institute study on traffic jams and wasted time.

By Alain StephensAugust 31, 2015 11:45 am

Wasting time sitting in traffic costs America $160 billion a year in lost productivity and other costs, according to Texas A&M’s Transportation Institute. It’s a widely-cited, highly influential report; we covered it in Thursday’s show. The report looks at how many hours we spend stuck in traffic. The average urban commuter, researchers said, wastes about 42 hours a year stuck in traffic jams — and in some Texas cities it’s even worse. However, this report is highly controversial among a lot of researchers and practitioners from across the country. The Standard wanted to find out more. Joining us is Daniel Hertz, a senior fellow at City Observatory — a think tank that examines municipal policies.

Hear more in the audio player above.