Traffic Delays Up in Almost Two Thirds of UK Cities, London Tops Global Congestion Ranking

Britain’s Most Congested Roads

INRIX also identified the worst congested roads in the UK, as well as the worst times to travel. London roads were the busiest during the mid-week rush-hour with the A217 experiencing the most congestion in the country, delaying motorists by 110 hours – 26 hours more than the next worst road, the A215 from Camberwell to Croydon. Outside of the capital, a five-mile stretch of the A8 in Edinburgh was the most congested road with drivers spending an average of 43 hours in gridlock.

The UK’s most congested roads in 2015 (ranked by annual hours wasted):

The UK’s most congested roads outside London in 2015 (ranked by annual hours wasted):

UK vs. Europe: How do we Measure Up?

Of the 13 European countries analysed, 70% experienced a decrease in congestion in 2015. This can be attributed to a sluggish Europe-wide economy, with an average quarterly GDP growth rate of 0.3% in the second half of last year⁸, which remains below the pre-crisis peak of 2008. Belgium topped the list with drivers spending 44 hours in traffic congestion, followed by the Netherlands (39 hours) and Germany(38). Despite traffic being up in 61% of cities, the UK moved down to sixth.

Countries in Europe with the highest levels of congestion (ranked by annual hours wasted):

The Traffic Situation in Europe’s Cities

Although London topped the list of Europe’s most gridlocked cities, Stuttgart experienced the highest increase, reaching 73 average hours wasted in 2015, an increase of 14% from 2014. This propelled Stuttgart from fifth to second in the ranking, which can be attributed to low fuel prices⁹, a record number of new registered vehicles¹⁰ and more people commuting to work by car. Cologne, which took the title of Germany’s most congested city last year, slips to fourth, and Antwerp moves up to third. Both Cologne(5.2 hours) and Antwerp (6.6) experienced significant increases in delays.

Brussels – Europe’s most congested city in 2012 and 2013 and second to London in 2014 – experienced a significant drop in delays in 2015, achieving 70 hours wasted in traffic, a decline of more than four hours from 2014 and moving the city to fifth in the ranking. Brussels recently made investments to strengthen key suburban rail services in and around the city to help ease gridlock¹¹.

Europe’s most congested metropolitan areas in 2015 (ranked by annual hours wasted):

How Europe Compares to Cities Worldwide

At the global city level, London tops the list of gridlock-plagued cities, with 101 hours of delay, followed by Los Angeles (81 hours), Washington D.C. (75), San Francisco (75), Houston (74), New York (73), Stuttgart (73), Antwerp (71), Cologne (71) and Brussels (70). Drivers using the top 10 worst roads globally waste on average 110 hours a year, or more than 4.5 days, in gridlock. Of these, four are in Los Angeles, three in Moscow, followed by roads in London, Brussels and Munich.

Of the countries measured by the INRIX Traffic Scorecard, the U.S. leads with the highest annual hours wasted in traffic – an average of nearly 50 hours in 2015 – outranking Belgium (44 hours), Netherlands(39), Germany (38), Luxembourg (33), Switzerland (30), UK (30) and France (28).