LONDON IS THE BRITISH CITY WITH THE MOST GRIDLOCK — AGAIN
London is the most congested city in the world, with commuters trying to complete car journeys in the capital wasting more than 100 hours on average last year stuck in traffic.
A 16km stretch of the A217 in London was the UK’s most congested road for the second year running in 2015, costing drivers on average 110 hours, or 4.5 days, of wasted time, the INRIX Traffic Scorecard reveals.
Globally, London tops the list of gridlock-plagued cities, with 101 hours of delays for the average commuter last year, followed by Los Angeles (81 hours), Washington D.C. (75), San Francisco (75), Houston (74), and New York (73).
Across the UK, drivers spent an average of 30 hours on congested roads in 2015, with increased traffic reported in over 60 per cent of cities.
“London is the victim of its own success, with a robust jobs market and a growing economy attracting more people, more construction and consequently, more traffic,” Bryan Mistele, President & CEO of INRIX said.
He added: “Transport for London is tackling this problem with its £4 billion (NZ$8.43 billion) Road Modernisation Plan. While, in the short term the roadworks from this initiative are frustrating for drivers, they are a step towards creating a more sustainable and modernised transport network.”
Outside London, the biggest rise in congestion seen in the UK last year was in Belfast, where drivers sat idle in traffic for an average of 28 hours last year.
Birmingham experienced the biggest decline in traffic delays, with a decrease of 2.5 hours across the year. The report attributes this to the completion of roadworks on the M6 and redevelopment projects in the city centre.
Within Europe, the UK has moved down to sixth place in the list of the most congested countries, with Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany faring worst.
Stuttgart in Germany suffered a marked increase in congestion last year, with an average of 73 hours wasted in traffic last year, 8.5 hours more than in 2014.
Meanwhile, Brussels — Europe’s most congested city in 2012 and 2013 and second to London in 2014 — experienced a drop in delays in 2015, with 70 hours wasted in traffic, a decline of more than four hours from 2014.
-Daily Mail