Winter getaways are getting a little cheaper
Average airfares to the Caribbean and Mexico are down slightly this winter compared to 2016
If you're in New York City, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, or Washington, D.C., you may want to quiet those "this-commute-could-never-get-worse" grumbles— a new study shows that these metropolises don't even crack the top 15 of the world's worst cities for evening rush hour traffic.
In fact, only one U.S. city, Los Angeles, makes the cut, ringing in at 14. So, who takes the top (worst) honor? According to GPS manufacturer TomTom, which tracked traffic in 390 cities across 48 countries for one year, it's Bangkok, Thailand—for the second year in a row.
Bangkok's rush hour woes are the result of its positive economic growth, says TomTom senior traffic expert Nick Cohn. More people and more jobs equals more commuters and more traffic. Cohn told CNN that though Mexico City came in second for worst evening rush hour traffic, TomTom considers it the worst overall city for traffic throughout the day.
"It could be middle of the day or late at night, but it's just really, really congested. Mexico City has an extensive subway system but it doesn't extend out to where all the population growth is happening. People don't have a lot of options for getting to work."
More From Conde Nast Traveler
The full list can be found below.
1. Bangkok, Thailand
2. Mexico City, Mexico
3. Bucharest, Romania
4. Jakarta, Indonesia
5. Moscow, Russia
6. Chongqing, China
7. Istanbul, Turkey
8. St. Petersburg, Russia
9. Zhuhai, China
10. Santiago, Chile
11. Guangzhou, China
12. Shijiazhuang, China
13. Shenzhen, China
14. Los Angeles, California, U.S.
15. Beijing, China
Unsurprisingly, other recent studies show that the U.S. isn't completely in the clear for bad traffic: Though INRIX's 2016 Global Traffic Scorecard also has Thailand up top for the most congested country, Los Angeles takes home the gold for the world's most congested city, with commuters spending an average of 104 hours in traffic jams during "peak congestion hours."
New York (ranked third), San Francisco (fourth), Atlanta (eighth), and Miami (tenth) rounded out the list. Even worse news?
The riskiest times to drive are between 5 and 6 p.m., when commuters hit the road to head home from work. All the more reason to take the subway, no matter how dirty it is.
Fun stories about food, relationships, the great outdoors and more.