The Simple Reason Why Traffic Is Worse

Traffic

 

By Mara Pometti and Naylee Nagda

Every year, Los Angeles freeways are asked to handle an ever greater number of vehicles. The chart shows the month-by-month changes in car volume between 2013-2016. What do we mean by car volume? We calculated the average number of cars that pass over a freeway sensor every 30 seconds. In 2013, that was 10.4 cars on average every 30 seconds. By 2016, the most recent year for which data is available, it had risen to almost 15 cars every 30 seconds. So, if your freeway commute is taking longer, it’s because there are more of you.