Traffic in Central Florida costs drivers time and money. Here’s the worst stretch: report

ORLANDO, Fla. – Traffic in Central Florida is notoriously bad, and recent data confirms it.

While some may think it’s an exaggeration, a 2024 traffic report from INRIX analyzed more than 900 cities in 36 countries and found that Orlando ranks 263rd for congestion worldwide and 38th in the U.S.

[VIDEO BELOW: Report says Fla. traffic lights outdated]

“I’ve been to a lot of different places in the country. I’ve driven on I-4. driven on the four over in California, on the Beltway. We have maybe the worst traffic that exists in the country,” Spencer Reiter said.

“I feel like it’s worse than New York at this point, and I’m from there,” another driver shares. “So, yeah. So, I think that the traffic here is really bad.”

The report reveals that drivers lose an average of 27 hours in congestion annually in Orlando. As the saying goes, time is money; the report estimates the congestion cost at $483 per driver annually.

“I mean, I probably lose about two hours a day,” Reiter explained. “I work from people’s homes with appointments that we set. So, there are plenty of appointments that I can’t get to because of the miserable traffic that we deal with. And that’s money out of my pocket.”

“So, you lose over a day on average if you’re driving here. What does that make you feel like?” News 6 reporter Stephanie Rodriguez asked one driver.

“That feels like we work hard for our money, and it’s just we’re spending it mostly on gas and, you know, bills and AC, and it’s not right,” the driver replied.

It will likely come as little surprise to anyone who has driven in the area that the report identifies the worst stretch of traffic in Central Florida as I-4 by ChampionsGate.

You can read the full report below.