Belfast Harbour courtesy of Stakeholder Group
Londoners grumbling over congestions charges have fresh reason to complain after news emerged that the nation’s capital is not even the country’s most clogged. SatNav specialists TomTom have unveiled The 2012 Congestion Index, a study which shows that Belfast is the UK’s most congested city, closely followed by the West Country idyll, Bristol. The average journey for drivers in Belfast takes 32.1 percent longer than it would if traffic moved freely. In Bristol, journeys take 31 percent longer. In London, the average journey takes a comparably pacey 27.5 percent longer than it should.
Rush Hour Figures
Using an impressive five billions pieces of data, TomTom says Rush Hour in Belfast is best place to avoid anywhere in the UK. Journeys take an amazing 73 percent longer than they should! In Bristol, the average is 60 percent – or put another way, an hour long journey would take a 1hr 38m! During Rush Hour, Londoners should add an extra 55 percent to their car journey time which is still less than Manchester and Nottingham.
photo credit: neoporcupine via photopin
Global Congestion
TomTom’s data took in over 150 cities worldwide and showed that the Moscow has the world’s most congested streets. On average, journey times in the Russian capital were a head-scratching 66 percent slower than expected travel times! Istanbul drivers spend 55 percent longer driving than they should and Warsaw drivers are 42 percent slower. Marseille, Palermo, Paris, Rome, Stuttgart, Sydney and Los Angeles are all worse for drivers than anywhere in Britain.
TomTom’s Head of Traffic confirmed:
This detailed knowledge of the entire road network, helps businesses and governments make more informed decisions about how best to tackle and avoid congestion. Our traffic database contains over six trillion data measurements. This helps us determine which routes are the least busy and what times of day are best.
City |
Average journey duration increased by |
Belfast |
32.1% |
Bristol |
31.0% |
London |
27.5% |
Leeds/Bradford |
26.2% |
Nottingham |
24.4% |
Manchester |
24.2% |
Sheffield |
23.0% |
Birmingham |
21.6% |
Liverpool |
21.4% |
Newcastle |
20.9% |
Glasgow |
18.3% |
