NEWARK , March 20, 2000 - A report by the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) finds that on average New Jersey drivers spend about 34 hours-nearly one working week-in traffic delays each year. The study, Mobility and the Costs of Congestion in New Jersey, estimates the cost of traffic congestion to New Jersey in lost time, wasted fuel, and increased shipping costs.

     NJIT conducted the $65,000, six-month study, which was funded by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) and a grant from the Foundation of the New Jersey Alliance for Action. Findings from the study were announced at a press conference held by NJIT and the Foundation on Monday.

     According to Lazar Spasovic, director of the NJIT National Center for Transportation and Industrial Productivity (NCTIP), "NJIT's analysis builds on a 1996 study by the Texas Transportation Institute which made state-to-state comparisons using national highway data. By using more detailed data on traffic volume and roadway characteristics in New Jersey and an enhanced methodology, we were able to determine the cost of congestion on the roadway network throughout the state." As a result, the information can be used for a range of calculations, from estimating the benefits of proposed improvements to predicting congestion increases with future population growth.

     The research team from NCTIP analyzed data from New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) to measure and compare congestion in terms of traffic volumes, travel speeds, trip lengths, fuel consumption, and truck flows. The study assesses a dollar value for delay experienced by drivers under current conditions, on a state-wide and county level, as well as corridor and project level. The study also projects the future cost of congestion in the state for the years 2005 and 2015.

     To arrive at the study conclusions, the NCTIP team calculated the amount of extra travel time caused by traffic delays in each county, by roadway type and by driver. The Travel Rate Index (TRI) for each county measures the amount of extra time it takes to travel during the peak period. A TRI of 1.96 in Somerset County, for example, indicates that a trip will take almost twice as long on roads like Routes 22 and 31 during peak periods than during off-peak hours.

     The average Annual Hours of Delay per Licensed Driver, when weighted for the amount of travel in each county, was calculated at 34 hours per year, with an associated 72 gallons of fuel wasted annually, on average, for each driver (see report Tables 3 and 4). The study concludes that congestion affects not only autos and truck operators but also commuters on transit buses since buses operate almost exclusively in mixed traffic with autos and trucks.

     Dollar values for time lost due to congestion were developed for the study using demographic data from the New Jersey Department of Labor for average wage rate per capita in each county. Truck delay costs were estimated based on a figure of $2.65 per mile developed for the Texas study. Combining lost time with wasted fuel (at $1.28 per gallon), and additional shipping costs, the study found that the cost of congestion in New Jersey on average is $877 annually.

     The Congestion Cost study is the first of its kind in New Jersey to measure the quantifiable and qualitative impacts of congestion in the state on mobility, the cost of transportation, and economic productivity. Following the release of the study, a computer modeling system which incorporates the study findings, will be made available for government use in cost-benefit planning for infrastructure improvements.

     The National Center for Transportation and Industrial Productivity (NCTIP) at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is one of four national centers designated under the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). Chartered under the US Department of Transportation's (USDOT) University Transportation Centers Program, NCTIP supports USDOT's strategic goals of mobility and economic growth, as well as National Transportation Science and Technology strategies of enhancing goods and freight movement at domestic and international gateways; increasing global competitiveness; optimizing intermodal passenger and freight transportation systems; and modeling tools for transportation planning, design and operations. NCTIP is a research resource for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, which provides funding for mutually acceptable state-of-the-art research.

     NJIT is a public research university enrolling over 8,200 bachelor's, master's and doctoral students in 87 degree programs through five colleges: Newark College of Engineering, New Jersey School of Architecture, College of Science and Liberal Arts, the School of Management and the Albert Dorman Honors College. Research initiatives include manufacturing, microelectronics, multimedia, transportation, computer science, solar astrophysics, environmental engineering and science, and architecture and building science.

     Yahoo! Internet Life magazine has ranked NJIT "America's most wired public university" for two consecutive years, U.S. News and World Report's 1999 Annual Guide to America's Best Colleges ranked NJIT among the nation's top universities, and Money magazine's most recent issue of Best College Buys rated NJIT as the sixth best value among U.S. science and technology schools and among the top 100 overall. In September 1999, Mademoiselle ranked NJIT as the second most Internet-connected university in the nation.