For people who make excuses about not using the train….

It seems that a common response I get about using the train is how much time it takes and that peoples’ family time is more important than spending time on the train, thus the excuse for using their cars to commute.

Today’s Deseret News has a feature on how much time people spend in their cars to commute to and from work.

The study by The Road Information Program (TRIP – a nonprofit organization that studies roads and congestion in several states.) shows that Utah motorists are wasting up to 76 hours and 56 gallons of fuel annually, just sitting in traffic. And depending what roads you use, the numbers go even higher. Traffic congestion costs Utah drivers as much as $1,275 a year in wasted time and fuel.
Over the past few months, TRIP looked at data from state and federal agencies, as well as research and planning groups, to complete the study that lists the 25 most-congested roads in Utah. For each of those roads, the study estimated how much time and money people waste while stuck in traffic.
“Commuters are losing a lot of time and wasting money because of growing traffic congestion,” said Frank Moretti, spokesman for TRIP, a transportation-research group based in Washington, D.C.
Utah County had 14 of the 25 most congested roads, while Salt Lake County had eight of them, according to the study.
The most expensive route to drive is I-15 in Utah County, from Orem’s University Parkway to 1600 North, the study showed. Motorists using that route spend $1,275 each year on traffic delays. Drivers there lose about 76 hours of time annually in traffic and waste about 56 gallons of fuel.