US Road Travel Hits All-Time High in 2024, Surpassing Pre-Pandemic Levels

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) revealed that the number of travelers who took to roads in America last year reached record-breaking proportions.

According to Reuters.com, travel on U.S. roads in 2024 increased by one percent to 3.28 trillion miles, which set a new yearly record and topped pre-COVID-19 levels for the first time.

The DOT announced previously that road travel for 2023 had topped 2019 totals, but was forced to revise that figure to a lower total. 

Americans taking to the open roads racked up 32.3 billion more miles last year than in 2023, with December’s totals marking a 1.7 percent increase from the same period the previous year.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in more people working from home, causing the number of Americans hitting the road to decline sharply.

Earlier this year, data from INRIX, Inc. found that ten American cities were named among the top 25 most congested urban areas globally. New York City and Chicago emerged as the worst in the country, tying for second place worldwide, with drivers losing 102 hours in traffic annually.

In New York City, officials proposed a congestion pricing program aimed to reduce traffic buildup and fund renovations to the public transit system. In late February, the Trump Administration announced they would no longer support it.

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