on the road again?

Houston drivers have the 4th worst commute in America, study finds

Houston drivers — here's your validation for your road rage. Photo by Manuel Velasquez on Unsplash

For better or for worse, it's finally been confirmed – Houston traffic is among the worst in the nation, according to a new study by Forbes Home.

Houston ranked No. 4 in the Forbes study, which analyzed 25 of the largest U.S. cities to discover the average commute times for workers. Using 2021 U.S. Census data, the report determined the average time spent traveling to work in Houston is 30 minutes, which is only the ninth worst commute time out of all cities on the list.

"No amount of personal playlist songs, audiobooks, podcasts, commuter coffee, or glove compartment snacks can make a tough commute more pleasant," the report said.

While the COVID-19 pandemic brought commuting to a halt for most workers, about 74 percent of Americans are back to making those early morning and afternoon drives to-and-from their employers. Work-from-home rates have continuously dropped since 2020, which isn't helping the rise in commute times.

Houston has nearly 1.75 million workers over the age of 16 living within the area, and only 4.6 percent of households don't have access to a car. Unless workers live very close to their jobs, it's otherwise pretty difficult to walk or bike to work in such a gridlock-stricken city.

It surely doesn't help that the study cites Houston's (unfortunate) fame for being the No. 1 most stressful U.S. city for workers as having a hand in its overall ranking. Add commuting to that list of stressors, and it all equals an unhealthy effect on the working population.

"Research by the National Library of Medicine has found that the longer the commute time, the less satisfaction with work and life as hours spent commuting daily can contribute to a decline in mental and physical health," the report said.

Elsewhere in Texas, Dallas (No. 9) and Fort Worth (No. 10) both made it into the top 10 with their respective commute times of 29.70 and 26.80 minutes. San Antonio ranked No. 16 with an average commute time of 25.40 minutes. Austin, surprisingly, ranked No. 18 overall with an average of 27.90 minutes.

The top 10 U.S. cities with the hardest commutes are:

  • No. 1 – Nashville, Tennessee
  • No. 2 – Charlotte, North Carolina
  • No. 3 – Jacksonville, Florida
  • No. 4 – Houston, Texas
  • No. 5 – Washington, D.C.
  • No. 6 – New York City, New York
  • No. 7 – Boston, Massachusetts
  • No. 8 – Los Angeles, California
  • No. 9 – Dallas, Texas
  • No. 10 – Fort Worth, Texas
The full report can be found on forbes.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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A View From HETI

Lummus Technology will partner with Advanced Ionics to accelerate the commercialization of its hydrogen electrolyzer technology. Photo via lummustechnology.com

A Houston energy technology company has announced a new partnership with a green hydrogen technology provider.

Lummus Technology has teamed up with Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Advanced Ionics to accelerate the commercialization of its hydrogen electrolyzer technology. Lummus Venture Capital has also invested an undisclosed amount into the company's business.

“Lummus has a proven track record of serving as a launchpad for innovative technologies,” says Leon de Bruyn, president and CEO of Lummus Technology, in a news release. “With Advanced Ionics, we will leverage this experience to develop and deploy cost-efficient solutions that advance green hydrogen production and help decarbonize key sectors of the downstream energy industry.”

The platform that Advanced Ionics has created works with process and waste heat to produce green hydrogen for less than a dollar per kilogram, according to the company. The platform's users include industrial hydrogen producers looking to optimize sustainability at an affordable cost.

“Water vapor electrolyzers address two of the biggest challenges to expanding green hydrogen production: capital costs and electricity requirements,” adds Chad Mason, CEO of Advanced Ionics. “Our partnership with Lummus Technology – and their additional investment – marks a pivotal next step in accelerating the commercialization of technology, which was purpose-built for decarbonizing heavy industry.”

Lummus, a global licensor of hydrogen technology for refinery, petrochemical and other industrial gas applications, has also supported other energy transition verticals recently, including sustainable plastics alternatives and carbon capture.

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