Innovation
Urban Congestion Costs
Description: This indicator estimates the cost of congestion in dollars in large urban areas across the country. Total costs and costs per peak traveler are reported.
The dashboard presents data for Arizona’s two largest urban areas (Phoenix and Tucson) from 1982 through 2005. Nominal and inflation-adjusted dollars are shown for the total cost and the cost per peak traveler. The data are inflation adjusted using the gross domestic product (GDP) implicit price deflator. The inflation-adjusted dollars are expressed in terms of the latest year of data available.
Rationale: An economy conducive to innovation requires high-quality affordable public infrastructure. This indicator is a measure of the cost of commuting in Arizona’s two largest urban areas.
Data Sources: Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A&M University System http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums. The GDP implicit price deflator is available from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/SelectTable.asp?Selected=Y (Table 1.1.9).
Comments on the Quality of the Data: The data are highly derived and should be viewed as estimates.
