Skip to main content

TomTom survey shows congestion worsening in 200 global cities

A survey of more than 200 major global cities shows that commuters in Istanbul experience the worst overall traffic congestion. The average 30-minute drive in Istanbul takes more than an hour during evening rush hour, leading to an extra 125 hours wasted stuck in traffic every year, according to the latest Traffic Index Survey from Tom Tom. However, in Los Angeles, a 30 minute commute in the evening rush hour will take 54 minutes, adding an extra 92 hours annually.
April 10, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A survey of more than 200 major global cities shows that commuters in Istanbul experience the worst overall traffic congestion.

The average 30-minute drive in Istanbul takes more than an hour during evening rush hour, leading to an extra 125 hours wasted stuck in traffic every year, according to the latest Traffic Index Survey from Tom Tom.

However, in Los Angeles, a 30 minute commute in the evening rush hour will take 54 minutes, adding an extra 92 hours annually.

This year 3972 TomTom has expanded its Traffic Index to 218 cities in 36 countries. For the first time, the index includes traffic information for China, Romania, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia and United Arab Emirates. The Traffic Index is based on data collected during 2014.

Overall ranking of most congested cities in 2014:

1.    Istanbul (Turkey)
2.    Mexico City
3.    Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
4.    Moscow
5.    Salvador (Brazil)
6.    Recife (Brazil)
7.    St. Petersburg (Russia)
8.    Bucharest (Romania)
9.    Warsaw (Poland)
10.    Los Angeles

Top ten cities with the worst evening rush hour:

1.    Istanbul
2.    Moscow
3.    St. Petersburg
4.    Mexico City
5.    Chongqing (China)
6.    Recife
7.    Bucharest
8.    Rio de Janeiro
9.    Shenzhen (China)
10.    Los Angeles

The survey also showed that traffic congestion in UK cities has worsened considerably over the past year, as World Highways had reported earlier. Average journeys in the UK last year took 29% longer than they would in free-flowing traffic – up from a 27% in 2013.

The only UK city where congestion had improved is Bristol, down from 32% to 29% per cent.

To find out more information on the Traffic Index, %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal click here Visit TomTom Page false http://www.tomtom.com/trafficindex false false%>.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Losing your car ain’t as hard as you would think
    April 29, 2015
    Thankfully it doesn’t happen too often, but forgetting where you parked your car can be an embarrassing moment, or several days, as one man in the UK recently found. Jason Matthews, 40, ran the Manchester City Marathon on April 19 in five hours and 11 minutes and then spent an additional several hours looking for his Saab 93 Sport. He said he couldn’t recall where he had parked the vehicle. He walked back around some of the 26-mile – nearly 42km - course, before driving around in a taxi for 40 minutes an
  • McKinsey to present major construction sector report at bauma
    March 3, 2016
    Consultancy McKinsey and Company will launch its report Perspectives on the Construction Equipment Industry in Europe during the upcoming bauma exhibition in Munich. The report will be presented at joint seminar with the CECE – Committee for European Construction Equipment – in the bauma fairgrounds on April 13 when leading McKinsey analysts and CECE officials discuss main trends and challenges facing manufactures and buyers of equipment.
  • VIDEO footage shows bridge replacement project in Rhode Island
    October 10, 2014
    A time-lapse video has been released showing the rapid replacement of the Barton Corner Bridge in Rhode Island in the US. Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) partnered with EarthCam to document the US$6.4 million rapid replacement of the Barton Corner Bridge. The construction project was completed during an 11-day period in August 2014 and can be seen in an exclusive time-lapse, released by RIDOT. Had RIDOT had used conventional methods, the bridge replacement would have taken two full constru
  • Seismic Reinforcement Materials Market exceeding at 4% CAGR to cross $40bn by 2025
    July 10, 2019
    According to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc. Seismic Reinforcement Materials Market will surpass USD 40 billion by 2025. Increasing seismic activities across the globe resulting in loss of life and assets is the prime reason influencing the growth of seismic reinforcement materials market. The products are majorly used in buildings to strengthen the structures in order to minimize damage possibilities during or after earthquakes. Increasing awareness and implementation of various buil