San Francisco traffic congestion getting worse, study says
Traffic is picking up in San Francisco. A study by TomTom found people lost 112 hours last year sitting in rush hour traffic and ranked the congestion third in the country.
"I think around peak hours it is so terrible to drive into the city," said Ishani Ashok. "I'll be sitting in traffic for hours just to get on the bridge."
Ashok lives in Fremont but works on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. When she crunched the numbers, it didn't make any sense to drive to work.
"I just found that driving into the city would take way longer," Ashok explained. "It's like around an hour and a half in the mornings, while BART is like 55 minutes. It's just way more convenient. I don't have to sit in traffic. I don't have to pay the toll either."
But for some people, BART isn't an option. Britton Moore commutes into the city four days a week from the Central Valley.
"It can be anywhere from two to three hours, each way," said Moore.
The study by GPS Navigation company, TomTom, found that SF saw a 2.2 percent increase in average congestion compared to 2024. The increase moved it up over New York City, ranking only behind Los Angeles and Honolulu.
Although the traffic may be frustrating, Bay Area Council Senior Vice President of Public Policy Emily Loper says there is a positive spin.
"The good news is that this traffic is a sign of our economic recovery. In fact, it's the kind of congestion ranking we saw pre-pandemic when the Bay Area economy was booming," said Loper.
At one point, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority was looking at congestion pricing, which would be a fee to use certain roads during peak hours.
That study was suspended during the pandemic, but they are monitoring New York City's Program.
Loper believes the TomTom's study highlights the importance of public transit.
"That's actually why we're leading this campaign to pass a regional measure in November to fund public transit," said Loper. "If we don't pass the measure, BART and Muni will have to cut service by 50 to 80 percent, meaning 100 of thousands of people who are riding buses and trains now would end up on our roads."
If approved, the measure would add a half-cent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties to fund BART, Caltrain, AC Transit, the San Francisco Bay Ferry, and the San Mateo County bus system.
In San Francisco, the rate would be 1 cent to cover additional MTA deficits.
For Ashok, she enjoys avoiding the roads, and she makes use of her time on BART.
"I read books," said Ashok. "I will listen to a podcast, which I guess you can do when driving but I think reading a book is cool to do."