The Texas Transportation Institute, “2005 Urban Mobility Report,” May 2005, reports the following about Mobility Data for San Francisco/San Jose and Oakland (rankings and figures are based on 2003 data):

Travel Time Index

• San Francisco/Oakland ranks 3rd in the study's “Travel Time Index” at 1.54, meaning for every 20 minute trip with light traffic that same trip in rush hour takes 31 minutes or 54% longer.
• San Jose ranks 14th in the country with a “Travel Time Index,” of 1.37, which equates to an additional 7.5 minutes for a trip that would take 20 minutes in light traffic.

Annual Delay (Peak/Rush Hour Travel)

• San Francisco/Oakland ranks 2nd in the nation in annual delay per peak rush hour traveler. Rush hour commuters spend an additional 72 hours commuting annually.
• San Jose ranks 11th, with peak travelers spending an extra 53 hours commuting.

Annual Delay (Non-rush Hour)

• San Francisco/Oakland drivers spend an additional 37 hours commuting during non-peak hours.
• San Jose drivers spend an additional 29 hours during non-rush hour travel.

Annual Excess Fuel Consumption

• San Francisco/Oakland ranks 4th in total excess fuel consumed, for both peak and non-peak commuters. 97 million gallons of gas are wasted due to congestion. Peak travelers in San Francisco/Oakland burn 45 gallons of excess fuel – the 2nd highest in the country. When calculated at a cost of $3.00 per gallon for gas, individual commuters are spending$135 annually in wasted fuel consumption.
• San Jose ranks 20th with a total of 31 million gallons in excess fuel consumption due to traffic delays. In the same category, San Jose ranks 8th in the nation when broken down by individual peak travel commuter at 34 gallons of excess fuel consumed annually, for a total of $102 spent on excess fuel consumption.

Overall Congestion Cost^*

• San Francisco/Oakland ranks 4th in overall congestion costs at just over $2.6 billion annually. Based on the total population for the area, the annual congestion costs calculates to be $630 for every man, woman, and child in the area.
• San Jose ranks 21st in overall congestion costs at just over $820 million annually. Based on the total population for the area, $204 is the annual per person congestion cost.

Rush Hour

• In San Francisco/Oakland, during each work day, 8 are considered “rush hours.” The study indicates a steady increase in this number since 1982 (the first year for the study) when rush hour traffic was calculated at 6.6 hours.
• San Jose also now experiences 8 “rush hours,” or an additional 1.2 hours since 1982.

*Note: Calculation is based on a national average of an individual's value of time at $13.75 per hour and fuel cost of $1.78 per gallon - adjustments have not been made to reflect the higher income of the San Francisco/Oakland and San Jose markets or the marked increase in gas prices.