Boston traffic among world’s worst, new report says

Boston drivers wasted 58 hours in heavy traffic in 2016, according to transportation analytics firm INRIX, which this week released what it’s billing as “the largest ever study of traffic congestion.”

That places the city 16th among more than 1,000 cities worldwide in terms of motorists giving up X hours of their lives on average per year because of heavy traffic. Boston ranked just behind Istanbul and ahead of Chicago.

The city ranked eighth among solely U.S. cities. Los Angeles drivers wasted the most time among cities both globally and domestically.

The extra hours spent in traffic equate to $1,759 per Bostonian for the year in direct and indirect costs. INRIX defines direct costs as ones related to the value of fuel and time wasted; and indirect costs to freight and business fees from commercial vehicles idling, which companies pass on to households in the form of higher prices for goods.

Finally, Boston boasts (is that the right word?) one of the most congested roadways in the nation, according to the report: Interstate 93 Northbound from Exit 5A/MA-24 to Exit 16/Southampton Street.

In 2016, drivers wasted 72 hours per person on average picking their ways through that stretch. Sigh.