America's Worst Commutes

June 5 -- — According to data from the Texas Transportation Institute, an independent transportation research group, America's roads and highways are more congested than ever before.

No matter whether you live in a small city or a megalopolis, if you commute by auto, you average 27 hours stuck in traffic each and every year. After adding up the cost of gasoline and working hours (or, more likely, sleeping hours) lost, the final tab came to $67.5 billion in 2000, the last year for which complete information is available.

Who has it the worst? Californians. Workers in San Francisco and Los Angeles spend more than a full working week staring at taillights each year.

Additional roadways are helpful, but they alone can't solve the problem. London has recently begun charging drivers to enter the central zone of the city. The $8 fee is not popular, but it has reduced traffic in central London by 20 percent since it was introduced in February. A similar market-based solution is being discussed for Manhattan.

Greater Los Angeles

Average annual hours of delay per capita for 2000: 62 hours.

With its infamous freeways, lack of decent public transportation and vast urban sprawl, Los Angeles is the worst commuting city in the country. Los Angelenos also waste the most fuel — 1.19 billion gallons per year — and pay the most, $1,155, per person in wasted fuel and time.

Major employers: The Walt Disney Co. (parent company of ABCNEWS), Northrop Grumman, Computer Sciences, Hilton Hotels, Mattel

San Francisco Bay Area

Average annual hours of delay per capita for 2000: 41 hours.

The bursting of the tech bubble cut a lot of jobs in the city by the bay, but it didn't put a dent in the daily commute. The city continues to grow and the roads can't keep up. The $2-plus-per-gallon gasoline costs don't help either. In total, congestion cost the Bay Area $3.2 million — $795 per person — in 2000.

Major Employers: McKesson, Wells Fargo, ChevronTexaco, Gap, PG&E