London 'among top ten worst cities in the world for traffic congestion'

Staff reporter(wp/es):

London is among the worst cities in the world for congestion, a new study found.

The capital has been named the seventh worst city for traffic jams in an analysis of 1,000 across the globe.

Last year, Londoners spent, on average, 73 hours-a-year waiting in queues during rush hour, traffic information company Inrix revealed.

But that compares to 104 hours lost in Los Angeles, and 91 in Moscow.

Drivers across the UK spend 32 hours-a-year waiting in queues of traffic during rush hour.

Researchers calculated that the direct and indirect costs of hold-ups hit £31 billion last year, at an average of £968 per driver. In London though, it is £1,911.

After London, Manchester is the second most congested British city, followed by Aberdeen, Birmingham and Edinburgh.

Those in Manchester spent an average of 39 hours-a-year at a standstill, while those in Aberdeen wasted 35 hours stuck in traffic. 

Inrix chief economist Graham Cookson said: "The cost of this congestion is staggering, stripping the economy of billions, impacting businesses and costing consumers dearly.

"To tackle this problem, we must consider bold options such as remote working, wider use of road user charging and investment in big data to create more effective and intelligent transportation systems." 

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: "Road congestion is a high price to pay for having a successful economy, and the risk is that gridlock starts to strangle growth.

"That is why we don't just need sustained investment, to add capacity and install better traffic management systems, we need intelligent investment planned to minimise disruption during construction, minimise maintenance requirements, and provide more flexibility for the future."

Russia is the most congested country in Europe, followed by Turkey and the UK.

Recent Department for Transport (DfT) figures show there was a record 320.5 billion vehicle miles travelled in 2016, up 1.2 per cent on the previous year.

A DfT spokesman said: "We are making the most extensive improvements to roads since the 1970s, investing a record £23 billion to keep our country moving and make journeys faster, better and more reliable for everyone.

"As announced in the 2016 Autumn Statement, we are also spending a further £1.3 billion over the course of this Parliament to relieve congestion and provide important upgrades to ensure our roads are fit for the future."