TomTom Traffic Index: London ranks 40th in ‘Most Traffic Congested City in World’
TomTom released the results of the TomTom Traffic Index, a report detailing the traffic situation in 403 cities in 56 countries around the world.
Mumbai takes the top spot this year with drivers in the Indian city expecting to spend an average of 65% extra travel time stuck in traffic. Next in the global rankings are Colombian capital, Bogota (63%), Lima in Peru (58%), New Delhi in India (58%) and Russian Capital, Moscow (56%), making up the top five most congested cities in the world.
With Moscow taking the lead in Europe, Istanbul (53%) came a close second with Bucharest (48%) Saint Petersburg (47%) and Kiev (46%) making up the top five. Brussels (37%), London (37%) and Paris (36%) ranked in at 11th, 12th and 13th respectively. North America’s top five most congested cities are Mexico City (52%), Los Angeles (41%), Vancouver (38%), New York (36%) and San Francisco (34%). Traffic congestion has increased globally during the last decade, and nearly 75% of the cities TomTom includes in the new Traffic Index report had increased or stable congestion levels between 2017 and 2018, with only 90 cities showing measurable decreases. There are significant differences between continents: for example, decreases were measured in Asia, with a large decrease in congestion (-8%) in Jakarta, while nearly every city in South America posted increases, the largest (8%) taking place in Lima, Peru. Ralf-Peter Schäfer, TomTom’s VP of Traffic information, said: “Globally, traffic congestion is rising. And that’s both good, and bad, news. It’s good because it indicates a strong global economy, but the flip side is drivers wasting time sitting in traffic, not to mention the huge environmental impact.”