LOS ANGELES — The average driver in Los Angeles spent nearly $350 more for fuel last year than in 2021, according to the 2022 INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard released Tuesday.

Angelenos returning to work, higher gas prices and inflation drove the increase, according to the annual report from the Washington-based traffic analysis firm.

Traffic congestion cost U.S. drivers 51 hours and $869 in lost time in 2022 — an increase of 15 hours and $305 compared with the year earlier. 

While drivers in Chicago, Boston and New York topped the INRIX list for U.S. traffic congestion last year, LA remained in sixth place — the same as 2021. The report found that traffic delays in LA decreased 8% compared with pre-COVID levels, as did downtown speeds, which were down 17%.

Southbound Interstate 5 in LA from Interstate 10 to Interstate 605 was the country’s second most congested corridor, costing drivers 31.8 minutes per day during the 5 p.m. rush hour. Drivers navigating that route 240 workdays a year lost an average of 127 hours to traffic.

For its annual traffic scorecard, INRIX ranks congestion for more than 1,000 cities in 50 countries. For the second year, London took the top spot as most congested city in the world, with Chicago jumping five spots to No. 2. Paris, Boston and New York City rounded out the top five.

“2022 was shaping up to be a year of re-emergence and a return to a new, post-pandemic behavioral norm, but that halted with the rise in oil prices, supply chain disruptions and inflation,” INRIX transportation analyst Bob Pishue said in a statement. 

“Despite geopolitical and economic uncertainties, we continued to see a rise in global vehicle-miles traveled, a return toward traditional morning and evening peak commutes, growth in public transportation use and continued gains in downtown travel,” he said. “However, we have yet to fully rebound to pre-pandemic levels, and while we do anticipate a gradual increase over the coming years, we may see a small decline in 2023 should a global recession strongly take hold.”