Each person traveling in peak periods wastes, on average, 62 hours a year, said the Texas Transportation Institute. In 75 metropolitan areas in 2000, the total cost of congestion in lost hours and wasted fuel was $68 billion. Nationwide, that cost may rise to $100 billion annually. These were just some of the facts laid out in the American Public Transportation Association's report, "Critical Relief for Traffic Congestion." The report lays out reasons how public transportation is a solution to combating congestion on the highways. It shows that public transportation reduces hours of delay in major travel corridors, generates substantial savings to the economy and reduces the need for highway expansion. The report can be accessed at www.publictransportation.org/news_congestion.html.