Los Angeles might seem to be the nation’s capital for gridlock, but according to Inrix, a provider of traffic data and information, the City of Angels doesn’t have the worst traffic in the United States.

Inrix says that the city of Honolulu wins that dubious honor, with drivers wasting 58 hours a year on average on congested roads.

The Inrix study shows that drivers in other major cities are still spending a fair number of hours stuck in traffic, too. While Los Angeles ranked a close second to Honolulu, those in San Francisco spent almost 48 additional hours in the car because of traffic.

The news wasn’t all bad, though. Inrix says overall congestion was down 30 percent in 2011 from the year before, and notes that of the 100 cities it surveyed, 70 of them logged lower rates of congestion year over year.

These cities had the worst traffic in 2011, according to Inrix, which lists the average hours wasted per driver after each city:

10) Chicago – 32.8 hours
9) Boston – 35 hours
8 ) Austin – 30 hours
7) Seattle – 33 hours
6) Washington, D.C. – 45 hours
5) Bridgeport, CT – 42 hours
4) New York – 57 hours
3) San Francisco – 48 hours
2) Los Angeles – 56 hours
1) Honolulu – 58 hours

Note: the study rankings are not strictly according to hours wasted. Instead they’re indexed to the duration of traffic over peak hours, which explains why some cities with more hours logged–New York–are ranked lower than cities like San Francisco.

The study also finds that, nationally, the worst morning commute occurs on Tuesday, while the worst evening commute is on Friday.

Inrix also says some of the worst traffic corridors in the country include the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, from the 105 to Getty Center; a 16-mile stretch of the Long Island Expressway in New York; and three miles of the Penn Lincoln Parkway in Pittsburgh.

For more information and complete results of the survey, see the Inrix report card and methodology.

Aside from saving time by carpooling you save money by cutting fuel costs by 50 per cent less fuel wasted sitting in traffic.

Letting someone else drive – or taking turns – gives carpoolers a chance to relax on the drive to work. No more leaving at 6 a.m. to “beat the rush”!

Qualifying vehicles that can use the Carpool Lanes

The following vehicles may use the carpool lanes that are carrying at least two people (often referred to as 2+):

• Private cars with a minimum number of occupants (often 2 or 3), including babies of any age (but only after birth).
• Vehicles with a special green license plate (plug-in hybrid electric or battery electric vehicle) Single occupant.
• Buses designed to transport sixteen or more passengers, including the driver.
• Emergency vehicles (fire, ambulance, rescue) and law enforcement vehicles.
• Motorcycle
• Taxi or limousine

A bus of any type can use a carpool lane, even without passengers. This helps buses keep to their schedules and provide reliable, efficient service. Electric cars or Hybrid cars can use this special lane even if there is only one individual in the car.

The carpool lanes provide fast, reliable travel for drivers at any time of the day – particularly during peak travel periods when other lanes can be slow and congested so enjoy.

Social/emotional

Through sharing a ride, you’ll meet other people. Our online world is steadily disconnecting people and that can be unhealthy for many folks. For some people, there’s nothing like a pep session before the daily grind and a counselling session immediately afterwards .

Also, if you find driving to work stressful, car pooling can alleviate the frustration in travelling to and from the workplace. You may even find time to carry out other tasks during the drive instead, such as preparing for meetings etc.

• Who drives, and when
• How often you’ll carpool
• Arrangements for pick-ups and drop-offs
• Duties of the driver, such as filling up the gas tank before picking up riders
• Whether smoking is allowed
• Any other questions or concerns you may have
• Will you add additional riders

Consider establishing a trial period of a week or two to give determine if you’re suited to carpool together, if adjustments need to be made, or if you need to find a different carpool partner.

Share your ride and the gas bill with just one friend, then, and you each save $650 a year. Fill the car, and you each save nearly $1,000.

But is not just gas you will be saving. In some cities, you can also save on tolls and parking and city driving is notorious for causing wear on vehicles – all the stopping and starting wears out engines, brakes and gearboxes, not to mention tire wear. According to the American Automobile Association, it costs an average of 26.2 cents per mile to drive a car; and that’s just gas and wear and tear combined.

Commute Solutions wants to reward you for starting a carpool. If you and others decide to share the ride, visit the Commute Solutions website to learn how you can get Ca$h for Carpools.

Fewer cars on the road means less carbon dioxide which cars produce from gasoline, a “greenhouse gas,” which is believed to be causing global warming/ or climate change, expected to have very negative effects on not just the environment, but our very lives as people and how we live.

It reduces the number of cars that are being used. Let’s say you and your friends both need to go to the movies. Instead of taking two cars, if you carpooled, you’d only be using one car. Less cars means less gas, which means fewer emissions and less pollution – and therefore it’s better for the environment!

Carpooling is one type of Conservation, meaning to use less energy (fuel, gas, coal, etc) especially important because fossil fuels like gas contribute to global warming.

If it were possible for everyone to do this we could cut our gasoline and pollution in half and there would be 1/2 as many cars on the road, (less traffic.)

And so the benefits of changing our commuting habits can produce a savings far greater than technology can accomplish. It can also be nice to have company and share the driving.