Big surprise. According to a recent study by IBM, Los Angeles ranks the worst in “commuter pain” among American cities. On an international scale, however– it could be worse.

The survey interviewed 8,192 motorists in 20 cities on six continents. Beijing ranks number one in commuter pain, followed closely by Mexico City, Johannesburg, and Moscow. Los Angeles, the first of U.S. cities on the index, is only 14th on the list of twenty cities.

The index was based on commuting time and time stuck in traffic. Los Angeles scored 25 while New York scored 19 and Houston 17.

The survey also showed that 13 percent of Angelenos would choose to work more if their commute time could be significantly reduced. This is in stark contrast to New Delhi, where 40 percent surveyed said that they would rather be working.

Naveen Lamba, IBM's global industry lead for intelligent transportation stated that building more roads will not be enough to overcome the growth of traffic in these rapidly developing cities,

“Multiple solutions need to be deployed simultaneously to avoid a failure of the transportation networks,” Lamba stated, “New techniques are required that empower transportation officials to better understand and proactively manage the flow of traffic.”

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