How long do commuters lose in traffic jams?

Tom Tom’s Traffic Index monitors the density of vehicular traffic in over 200 key cities. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, April 1, 2015.

The annual Tom Tom Traffic Index, which monitors the density of vehicular traffic in over 200 key cities around the world, shows that average commute times for drivers are getting longer.

The results of this year’s survey, published Tuesday, for the first time contain data gathered from Chinese cities. And while Chongqing (5th) and Shenzhen (9th) are both new entries in this year’s top 10, the world’s worst city for driving during the evening rush hour is Istanbul, Turkey.

With an overall congestion level of 58% and an evening peak congestion level of 109%, the average 30-minute commute takes more than an hour, meaning that over the course of a year, the average driver would lose an extra 125 hours simply from being stuck in traffic.

Not far behind with an evening peak congestion level of 103% is Moscow, where drivers can lose 118 hours a year to congestion. And rounding off the top three is another major Russian city, Saint Petersburg, which boasts an evening peak congestion level of 96%, meaning on average 110 hours a year lost to traffic jams and congestion. The only US city to break into the top 10 is LA, in tenth place, while Mexico City (4th place) and Rio de Janeiro (8th place) are Latin America’s only representatives in the list.

As well as a special table dedicated to the evening rush hour, TomTom has also produced a definitive list to the world’s most congested cities based on average traffic volumes throughout the day. With an average of 58%, Istanbul tops this list too, making it the most congested city based on all measurements.

In second place, with an average of 55% is Mexico City. Rio de Janeiro (51%) is third, Moscow (50%) fourth and Salvador fifth (46%). As with the rush hour congestion list, LA scrapes into 10th place with 39% behind Warsaw (9th place, 40%), Bucharest in eighth place (41%), Saint Petersburg in seventh (44%) and Recife (in Brazil) in sixth.

The most congested European Union city, Rome, ranks this year in 13th place, meaning its roads are worse than those in Beijing (15th place) or London (16th place). The most congested city in France, Marseille, is also the 18th most congested city in the world, with Paris itself coming in in 22nd place making it less congested than Vancouver (20th) or Sydney (21st), but worse than Shanghai (24th), San Francisco (26th) or Athens (27th). – AFP/Relaxnews, April 1, 2015.