Hub ranks 8th on list of most congested US cities

Globe Staff

This news may be of little consolation to a Mass. Pike commuter who battled rush hour traffic this morning, but a new study claims that seven cities have worse traffic than Boston, with Los Angeles reigning as gridlock champion.

And here's a news flash that won't surprise many locals: Traffic isn't getting any better.

Another study finding: Rush hour is no longer rush hour --- it's nearly 24/7.

Those are among the conclusions of a study by INRIX, a Seattle-based provider of traffic and navigation services.

"Traffic congestion increased nationwide for 11 consecutive months in 2010 with drivers experiencing increased traffic congestion nearly every hour of the day," INRIX said in a press release.

If there was a silver lining to the recession, it was easier commutes. But now that the economy is showing signs of mending and unemployment rates improving, rush hour congestion has increased. (Who knows, though, what fast rising gas prices will do to this equation?)

In a statement, INRIX president and chief executive Bryan Mistele said: "America is back on the road to gridlock. Population growth combined with increases in interstate commerce spurred by economic recovery are fueling these increases. With only 150,000 new jobs created in our nation's urban centers last year, we can expect even worse gridlock when the 6 million jobs lost in the recession return to the nation's cities."

INRIX said its study is based on analysis of data from the company's traffic data base.
That data base draws on information drawn from the company's Smart Driver Network of more than 4 million vehicles such as taxis, airport shuttles, service delivery vans, and long haul trucks as well as consumer vehicles.

See the INRIX list of the Top 10 most congested US cities here.