The end-of-year holidays are notoriously awful when it comes to long-distance travel. Many of us engage in the time-honored tradition of traveling across the country to spend time with family in other states for Thanksgiving and Christmas, even when the trip itself is often nothing but a source of dread and stress for us. Of course, not all destinations and metropolitan areas in the US are equal when it comes to vehicular traffic. The following are some of the infamously worst cities in the country when it comes to congested holiday traffic.
1. Los Angeles – Unsurprisingly, LA can probably be crowned as the absolute worst city to travel in, and not just for the holiday season, but practically all year round. When we think of LA we might think of Hollywood, celebrities, and sunny beaches, but those who reside there will probably think of the molasses-like flow of cars as far as the eye can see. Traffic is often cited as one of the top reasons why Americans would not consider moving to LA. The endless river of cars is its own special sort of torture for residents and holiday travelers alike. The holiday volume, along with the extremely stagnant flow of traffic, can turn a 30-minute drive into hours of crawling at a snail’s pace.
2. Philadelphia – Interestingly enough, traffic data collected by Google in 2014 suggests that Philadelphia has worse holiday traffic than NYC, making it the worst in the northeast. Perhaps it’s the notoriously confusing Philly street layout or simply that the city is a central hub for travel up and down the east coast; still, holiday travel in Philadelphia can be an absolute pain in a car. Philly is one of America’s oldest cities, so it’s design was never meant to accommodate the highway and street traffic of current times, and parking can be especially bad. Those going to or coming from Philly might do well to consider alternative services for transportation to the Philadelphia International Airport to or from Mercer County, NJ, or surrounding counties in the area to save themselves the stress and hazard.
3. Washington D.C. – Being the capital of the country doesn’t make it easy for those going to, from, or through this city. Washington is one of the fastest-growing cities in America and the work commute traffic alone shows it. This city is, essentially, the crossroads of the east coast for those driving north and south, and the holiday auto traffic only makes it worse. Though possibly not as bad as the gridlock of the 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas traffic can end up being worse than nearly any other metropolitan area in the country.
4. New York City – New York City is the largest city in the country, and with that comes another terrible case of regular congested traffic. The densely populated urban center has been the ill of many commuters and travelers alike, and once again, holiday traffic trends make a frustrating experience into a straight-up nightmare. Then there’s also the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, which attracts holiday tourists from all over the country and beyond, putting even more stress on already backed up streets and highways. Even when traveling to airports outside of the city proper, gridlock and slow crawls can be a major problem. With ridesharing services being especially unreliable in high-demand, high-volume locations, it’s probably better to schedule car services to or from Newark airport from Burlington County or other nearby areas in the tri-state area.
If you are traveling to or from New Jersey or the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area, then Exclusive Taxi & Care Service can assist with your holiday travel needs to make sure your trip is punctual, reliable, and stress-free. Exclusive Taxi & Care Services offers airport shuttling services through taxis or limos to and from Newark, Philadelphia, Trenton-Mercer, and Atlantic City airports. To learn more, just contact us!