Houston ranked among worst cities to drive in North America

HOUSTON, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- A study released Monday ranked Houston as one of the worst cities in North America for urban transportation, media reports said.

The study, done by a group of researchers from the London-based Center for Economics and Business Research, examined 23 major cities in the region using a number of factors, including accessibility, travel time, as well as investments and infrastructure improvements to urban transportation.

Commissioned by consulting firm Arcadis, the study found Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, at the bottom of the ranking, only before Indianapolis, a much smaller city in the north central U.S. state of Indiana.

Houston was even beaten by Tampa, Florida, a city with roughly a sixth of the population, according to the study.

Researchers ranked Houston poorly because of residents' low percentage of public transit journeys, its above average car dependency and roadway fatalities.

The top five cities according to the research were New York City, San Francisco, Vancouver and Montreal in Canada, and Washington D.C. Enditem