Statistically Europeans have longer commutes than Americans because they rely on public transport more while Americans drive and driving is almost always faster than surface public transport since not all Europeans have an underground in their city so public transport is often a slow an infrequent bus in tier 2 cities.

The more people drive, the worse the traffic. And if public transport has to be stuck in traffic, then driving is always faster.

Now this setting sounds familiar... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma