{"id":328712,"date":"2025-12-06T12:03:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T12:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/328712\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T12:03:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T12:03:13","slug":"montreal-highest-traffic-delays-in-canada-63-hours-lost-per-driver-each-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/328712\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal highest traffic delays in Canada: 63 hours lost per driver each year"},"content":{"rendered":"

A recent INRIX analysis<\/a> reveals that Montreal experiences the worst traffic congestion in the country. According to the study, people who drive in the city lose an average of 63 hours annually during peak travel periods.<\/p>\n

INRIX, which evaluates congestion patterns in over 1,300 urban areas worldwide, ranks Montreal 28th on the global list. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am always stuck in traffic and I really travel a lot, so I\u2019m always stuck in traffic and it\u2019s killing me,\u201d said a Montrealer to CityNews while waiting at a red light in her car.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem, I think, lies in coordination,\u201d says CAA-Quebec Foundation director, Andr\u00e9 Durocher. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have no coordination and everybody\u2019s sort of pulling the blanket on their side, you end up in situations that are unfortunately problematic for a lot of people,\u201d he added, referring to those involved in the city\u2019s public works.<\/p>\n

The top three most congested cities internationally are Istanbul, Mexico City, and Chicago.<\/p>\n

Toronto and Vancouver follow Montreal within Canada\u2019s congestion standings. Drivers in Toronto lose 59 hours a year, placing the city 34th worldwide, while those in Vancouver spend 46 hours in traffic, earning it the 79th spot.<\/p>\n

Compared with last year\u2019s results, Montreal\u2019s time wasted in rush-hour traffic has climbed by 9 per cent. Toronto recorded a smaller rise of 3 per cent, and Vancouver saw a 6 per cent increase.<\/p>\n

\"\"Part of the INRIX 2025 report, showing Montreal\u2019s ranking compared to other cities across the globe in terms of hours lost in congestion by drivers each year and the increase or decrease of congestion compared to the two previous years. (Courtesy: INRIX)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m an old Montrealer, I live out of town now and I feel that it\u2019s getting worse,\u201d said a man, on the side of the road in his car close to downtown Montreal, while nodding in agreement after hearing the new data from this year\u2019s report.<\/p>\n

Road experts like Durocher say the nine per cent climb can be attributed to Montreal\u2019s recent difficulties with public transportation, or lack thereof as transit users found themselves forced to use their cars during the multiple closures of bus and metro services for weeks on end. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo try to reduce traffic we encourage people to take public transportation,\u201d Durocher began to explain. \u201cAs we saw in the past couple of months or weeks, we saw situations where there were strikes, there\u2019s only service between such time and such a time, and it sort of ends up being a vicious circle, people are saying okay why should I bother not using my car, because then I\u2019ll be stuck.\u201d<\/p>\n

On top of the recurring STM strikes that Durocher says have been wreaking havoc on transportation this past year in Montreal, he adds that the city\u2019s infamous orange construction cones and constant road work during peak traffic hours are also strong contributors to the increase.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always appalled when I see situations, for example, when people are doing work sometimes at seven or eight o\u2019clock in the morning or at three or four PM,\u201d <\/p>\n

For its global comparisons, INRIX measures the time required to travel between downtown areas, or major employment hubs, and surrounding neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

On the world stage, Istanbul drivers faced 118 hours of delays in 2025. Motorists in Mexico City encountered 112 hours, and those in Chicago experienced 108 hours of congestion.<\/p>\n

The report also notes that traffic problems come with substantial financial and environmental costs, including extra fuel consumption, slower delivery times for goods, and the broader impacts associated with prolonged delays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A recent INRIX analysis reveals that Montreal experiences the worst traffic congestion in the country. According to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-328712","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}