Traffic congestion 14% worse than five years ago
ANALYSIS shows that commuters lose more than five days a year sitting in traffic.
Britain’s cities are 14% more congested than they were five years ago
Britain’s cities are 14% more congested than they were five years ago, according to a new report.
The annual Traffic Index from satellite navigation company TomTom – which analyses 14 trillion pieces of traffic data – shows that average UK journeys took 29% longer than they would in free-flowing traffic, compared to 25% in 2010.
The morning rush hour is nearly 10% more congested than in 2010, while the evening peak is 19% worse, which suggests that the time period in which people return home from work is more condensed. In total, the average commuter travelling to and from the UK’s top 25 cities is sat in traffic for an additional 127 hours a year because of congestion.
In 17 of those 25 cities, congestion has risen, with a constant level in four more. In the last year alone, traffic has worsened by 4%.
Belfast is again the most congested city in the UK (and 14th in the world), with journey times in 2015 40% slower than in normal free-flowing traffic. This rises to 86% in the evening rush hour.
You can’t just build your way out of traffic jams
London is next in the list, with journey times 38% slower, rising to 66% in the evening.
In third place is Manchester (37% slower), followed by Edinburgh (37%) and Brighton (34%). Filling up the top 10 are Hull, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Bristol and Sheffield.
“Transport authorities are managing congestion with well-engineered policies, but you can’t just build your way out of traffic jams,” said Ralf-Peter Schaefer, vice-president of TomTom Traffic. “Studies have shown that policies of ‘predict and provide’ are unsustainable.
Building new motorways and ring roads doesn’t eliminate congestion. More must be done to better manage existing road space and to spread demand.
The average commuter is in traffic for 127 hours a year
“People simply aren’t doing enough to change their travel habits – such as working flexible hours, avoiding peak commuting times, making use of real–time traffic information and trying alternative travel modes.
“If only 5% of us changed our travel plans, we could improve traffic congestion on our main roads by up to thirty per cent.”
On a global basis – the report looked at figures from 295 cities across the world – the most congested city is Mexico City, where commuters can expect to spend 59% longer in traffic, rising to 94% in the evening, which adds up to 219 hours a year stuck in traffic. The next most congested big cities worldwide are Bangkok (57%), Istanbul (50%), Rio de Janeiro (47%) and Moscow (44%).
However, while congestion seems to be rising inexorably everywhere, the one bright spot is Cardiff, where congestion has declined by 19% since TomTom started collecting data in 2008.
Congestion has declined by 19% since 2008
Britain’s most congested cities
1. Belfast
2. London
3. Manchester
4. Edinburgh
5. Brighton
6. Hull
7. Bournemouth
8. Newcastle
9. Bristol
10. Sheffield
11. Leicester
12. Liverpool
London is the second worst city in the UK for traffic
13. Swansea
14. Birmingham
15. Leeds-Bradford
16. Nottingham
17. Glasgow
18. Cardiff
19. Coventry
20. Southampton
21. Reading
22. Portsmouth
23. Middlesbrough
24. Stoke-on-Trent
25. Preston
Mexico City has the worst congestion in the world
Driver left astounded as drunk woman dances for him at traffic lights
The world’s most congested cities
1. Mexico City
2. Bangkok
3. Istanbul
4. Rio de Janeiro
5. Moscow
6. Bucharest
7. Salvador
8. Recife
9. Chengdu
10. Los Angeles