Think about this the next time you’re inching along in Hartford traffic: The metropolitan area is one of the nation’s 10 “easy, affordable commutes,” according to Kiplinger magazine.
In its March issue, Kiplinger ranks greater Hartford No. 10, barely edging out Sacramento, Calif.
Among its positive commuter attributes, the magazine says, the Hartford region scored below the national average in average commute time (22.6 minutes vs. 25 min.); annual congestion cost to commuters ($541 vs. $808), yearly delays per commuter (24 hours vs. 34 hours) and annual fuel wasted per commuter (21 gallons vs. 28 gallons).
Kiplinger uncovered a few negatives. Not surprisingly, Hartford‘s per-gallon cost for gasoline was higher than the U.S. average ($3.38 vs. $3.23). Area commuters also averaged longer distances than other Americans (13.9 miles vs. 11.8 miles).
Furthermore, the central Connecticut region’s 3 percent of the population regularly using public transit was below the 5 percent national average
The magazine was impressed with downtown Hartford’s free circulator bus service, the Star Shuttle, and insisted downtown has 45 parking garages “some of which are free, and lots of on-street parking.”
The other cities on Kiplinger’s “10 Best Cities for Commuters” list, from Nos. 1 to 9: Rochester, N.Y.; Columbus, Ohio; Providence, R.I./Fall River-New Bedford, Mass.;Â Richmond, Va.; Buffalo-Niagara, Falls, N.Y.; Cleveland, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky.-Ind./Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.; and Louisville, Ky.
