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The average Los Angeles area commuter wastes 90 hours a year stalled in traffic -- by far the highest gridlock toll in the nation, according to statistics compiled for the first time in an annual report released Tuesday.

The area topped the nation in traffic congestion for the 16th straight year, followed by San Francisco, where rush-hour drivers lost 68 hours in traffic delays, and Chicago, where commuters lost 61 hours. The new figure for lost time is based on a calculation that it takes the average Los Angeles rush-hour commuter 76 percent longer than it should to complete a trip.

But there was a bright spot for L.A. commuters, according to researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute who compiled the 2003 Urban Mobility Study.

L.A. traffic could have been worse if not for new car-pool lanes, public transit and small-scale freeway fixes that have kept even more severe traffic congestion at bay despite the increase in cars on the road.

"To have the additional travel...