Birmingham’s commuters waste 57 hours per year sitting in traffic, new study finds

Ever been stuck on Highway 280 after work and think that it feels like traffic congestion has gotten worse in Birmingham than it used to be? Turns out, the numbers back up that claim. 

Each year, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) publishes a study that analyzes how different areas drive, how much it costs and amount of time it takes to reach their destinations. 

That study shows in Birmingham that the average commuter lost 57 hours of time in 2024 due to traffic congestion. This marks about a 7.6% increase in wasted time compared to 2023. 

In previous years, that number was: 

• 2023: 53 hours
• 2022: 54 hours
• 2021: 48 hours
• 2020: 23 hours
• 2019: 51 hours

Based on Birmingham’s median hourly wage rate of $24.01 for 2024, the average commuter lost $1,404 from lost productivity and wasted fuel. 

Birmingham’s commuters lost around $300 more than the average commuter from other medium-sized urban areas in the U.S.

Other notable data points for 2024 in Birmingham are:

• Total delay: 30,933,00 hours (all traffic delays added together)
• Traffic congestion per day: 1.3 hours
• Miles traveled on freeways: 13,527,000 miles
• Miles traveled on city streets: 10,0480,000 miles
• Total cost of congestion: $852,000,000 (all time lost for all commuters)
• Fuel wasted for average commuter: 16 gallons
• Total fuel wasted: 8,364,000 gallons

The Magic City isn’t alone; the study found that traffic congestion was up at a national level in 2024.

“The numbers show more traffic than we’ve ever seen, but also a different kind of traffic.

“Hybrid work capabilities, online shopping and other changes in our daily lives have reshaped when and where congestion happens. This can create more unpredictability and make travel harder to plan.”

David Schrank, TTI senior research scientist and lead author of the study

To explore more data, explore the Urban Mobility Report’s interactive map. 

Is there any way to improve traffic?

Included in the study are ways in which cities of all sizes and growth trends could improve congestion. 

Some that may work for Birmingham, according to their interactive tool, include: 

• Flexible work hours
• Ridesharing
• Reducing disruption from construction
• Connecting sidewalk networks and bike lanes
• Land use planning with transit in mind
• Park-and-ride lots

There are many other suggested methods, which can be explored on the TTI website. 

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