The Los Angeles morning drive was faster than the evening slog home almost 80 percent of the time last year, according to a USC study released Wednesday.
The figures stem from Crosstown, an ongoing research project that mines data on key quality-of-life indicators in Los Angeles, such as traffic, crime and air quality.
The research, based on average speed in each direction, found that evening commutes were 14 percent slower on average, compared to the same morning commute in reverse.
Here are the top five evening jams:
— Southbound 5 between 10 and 605 — 38 percent slower;
— Southbound 405 between 118 and 10 — 37.8 percent slower;
— Eastbound 10 between Santa Monica Interstate 5 — 36 percent slower;
— Northbound 110 between 105 and 101 — 33 percent slower; and
— Northwest 101 between 5 and Topanga Canyon Boulevard — 29 percent slower.
The project is an effort between various USC departments, including the Annenberg School of Journalism.
“We’re trying to put some hard numbers behind things that Angelenos experience every day,” USC journalism professor Gabriel Kahn said. “Many of us might experience that our evening commute is worse than the mornings. We’re trying to figure out exactly by how much and why.”
There are multiple factors that make evening commutes longer. According to experts at both CalTrans and LA Metro, perhaps the biggest impact is that morning commuters go straight to work or school. In the evening, people often run errands or go to dinner, staying on the road and clogging lanes.