INRIX has published its Traffic Scorecard, which analysed 1,064 cities across 38 countries. The firm claims it is the largest study of congestion.
The UK ranked as the fourth most congested developed country in the world and the third most congested in Europe, with drivers spending an average of 32 hours a year in congestion during peak hours. It estimated the cost to UK motorists amounted to £30.8bn in 2016, an average of £968 per driver.
In the UK, the 2016 Traffic Scorecard analysed congestion in 87 cities and large urban areas. London remains the UK’s most congested city, and ranks second in Europe after Moscow and seventh in the world. Drivers in London spent an average of 73 hours in gridlock during peak hours. This contributed to congestion costing London drivers £1,911 each and the capital as a whole £6.2bn from direct and indirect costs.
Direct costs relate to the value of fuel and time wasted. Indirect costs relate to freighting and business fees from company vehicles idling in traffic, which are passed on to household bills through higher prices.
Manchester, Aberdeen, Birmingham and Edinburgh make up the UK’s five most congested cities.
“Despite Brexit, 2016 saw the UK economy remaining stable, fuel prices staying low and employment growing to an 11-year high, all of which incentivizes road travel and helped increase congestion as the 2016 Traffic Scorecard demonstrates,” said Graham Cookson, Chief Economist at INRIX.
