UK drivers spend an average of 32 hours in traffic – costing Londoners £1,911 each last year
The UK been has ranked the 3rd most congested in Europe – drivers spend an average of 32 hours a year in traffic jams during peak times, according to a report by traffic information company Inrix.
Over 1,000 cities worldwide were included in the study, and London was named the seventh worst for congestion and number one in the country, followed by Manchester, Aberdeen, Birmingham and Edinburgh which make up the UK’s five most congested cities.
The direct and indirect costs of traffic jams cost London drivers £6.2bn last year, that’s £1,911 each. Meanwhile in other parts of the country, the average is significantly lower at £968 per driver.
“The cost of this congestion is staggering, stripping the economy of billions, impacting businesses and costing consumers dearly,” said Inrix chief economist Graham Cookson
“To tackle this problem, we must consider bold options such as remote working, wider use of road user charging and investment in big data to create more effective and intelligent transportation systems.”
Though it may seem bad for us in the UK, North America cities dominated the top ten most congested cities in the world list, with five major cities making an appearance.
Los Angeles was seen to be the most congested with over with drivers spending a average 104 hours in traffic, followed by New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Miami took the tenth spot.
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This graph shows how the top 10 most congested cities rank based on hours spent in traffic (Source: Inrix.com)