2017’s Best & Worst Cities to Drive in

From Wallet Hub, Jul 11, 2017

Most Americans rely on cars to get around. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, “87 percent of daily trips take place in personal vehicles.” And even with growing access to public transportation in U.S. cities, most people still choose to travel by car, mainly for reasons such as “comfort and reliability.”

In truth, however, driving is often a major hassle and expense. Drivers annually spend an average of 200 hours on the road, plus another 41 hours in gridlock. For a full-time worker, that’s the equivalent of a six-week vacation. Add the costs of wasted time and fuel due to traffic congestions, and our collective tab comes to about $124 billion annually, or $1,700 per household. That figure doesn’t even include the additional $515 expense for maintenance and repairs, which many of us are likely to spend given the poor quality of America’s roads — currently ranking No. 14 out of 140 economically developed nations, according to the World Economic Forum, and graded “D” by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

But some cities are better for those behind the wheel. To determine those places, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 100 largest cities across 25 key indicators of driver-friendliness. Their data set ranges from average gas prices to average annual hours of traffic delays to auto-repair shops per capita….

read … Full Report

Honolulu, HI

• Rank – 94th
• Score -- 38.77
• Cost of Ownership & Maint – 92nd
• Traffic & Infrastructure – 92nd
• Safety – 68th
• Access to Vehicles & Maint -- 85th
• Auto-Maint Costs – 99th (2nd highest)