Traffic in Toronto is a waking nightmare, though the city may have moved one step closer to a solution this week with the announcement of a new Congestion Task Force.

The Toronto Region Board of Trade announced the creation of the new task force on Wednesday, uniting leaders from several influential businesses in the city who will work together to get traffic flowing on city streets using "practical, high-impact solutions."

The task force is built out with experts from various fields related to the problem at hand, including a transportation and infrastructure planner, an operations manager for FedEx, the president and CEO of 407 ETR, a policy director at Uber and several other business executives with the expertise and incentive to ease Toronto's traffic burdens.

Wednesday's announcement comes on the heels of an inaugural meeting where task force members opened up a dialogue with Mayor Olivia Chow and City Manager Paul Johnson, where both expressed commitment to get Toronto moving again.

"No one wants to be stuck in traffic," said Mayor Chow, acknowledging that "tackling our congestion challenges will be critical for continued economic growth and recovery, and to make our city more livable for people."

City Manager Paul Johnson echoed this commitment, saying, "We can do better. We want to do better. We are at the table to listen, to be challenged and to work together on solutions."

Motorists are no stranger to frustration on Toronto roads, but non-drivers may be wondering why this should matter to them.

Congestion affects everyone in Toronto, whether you drive, walk, cycle or use transit. Between the pollution generated by idling cars and the lost productivity in workplaces, you don't have to be a driver to feel the environmental and societal drain caused by gridlock.

Toronto drivers suffer the longest average travel times per 10 km in North America at 29 minutes, spending an average of 98 hours per year navigating rush hour traffic, and costing the city $11 billion in lost productivity and opportunity annually.

"Toronto's congestion crisis is lengthening travelling times for people, goods and services to painful levels, eroding our city's livability and seriously undermining business competitiveness. It's affecting our global reputation and costing over $11 billion annually in lost productivity," said Giles Gherson, President and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade.

"Our task force of business leaders has a strong history of problem-solving and implementing bold solutions. They are here to take action, and by the end of the year we will provide solutions to the city that will have real impact on how people and businesses move across our region."

Further task force meetings are planned for this spring, summer and fall.