Boise’s Rush Hour Traffic WORST in US, According to New Study

Have you been stuck in Boise Traffic? I work in Downtown and live in Meridian and I know that Driving into Downtown can get tricky at rush hour and that I-84 once you get past the Eagle exit especially seems to get slow going to Meridian, Nampa and Caldwell. Slow traffic and traffic jams sucks no matter where you are at but according to a new study, Boise is the worst.

FleetLogging had researchers focus on 141 of the most congested cities in the world, Boise obviously included.  The next thing they did was use TravelTime API to calculate how far from each city center the average person could drive in one hour - then compared both on- and off-peak driving times. Lastly they took that data and created a series of maps and charts to illustrate the difference in delays in each city. So what got us at the top nationally and top 5 worldwide?

What got Boise ranked as the worst city for rush hour traffic is primarily the difference in distance you could drive in rush hour times as comparted to times when traffic is not in its peak and not busy. According to the study, "The US city with the biggest discrepancy is Boise, Idaho, where you can travel 14.4 miles further in one hour by waiting for off-peak periods."

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I don't know if that is a fair way to assess the full picture when it comes to claiming 'the worst rush hour traffic' I think that is a pretty bold statement, especially to people who have lived in larger cities. It was not unusual for me to spend 3 plus hours a day in my car when I lived in Portland. I was wasting my life away behind the wheel. No thank you, compared to that, here seems mild.

Don't get me wrong, its not a cake walk here by any means. Like you, I have been stuck on the connector for an hour, or trapped on 84 unable to see if it is an accident or just traffic not moving near Meridian. I've also cussed under my breath at traffic lights that stay red for what seems like eternity. Traffic is a thing here for sure, but the worst in the US? Eh, regardless of this study, I am not convinced.