Belfast is the UK’s most congested city, new data has revealed.
According to TomTom’s annual Traffic Index report, journey times in Northern Ireland’s capital city are 43% longer on average compared with free-flowing traffic levels in the city.
This is an increase of 3% compared with the previous year’s report, and this figure rises to 87% in both the morning and evening rush hours. According to TomTom, drivers who commute every working day during the peak times can waste up to 200 hours a year stuck in traffic in the city.
Edinburgh is the second-busiest city in the UK in terms of congestion, with journey times taking, on average, 40% longer than they would do if the roads were uncongested in the city – a rise of 3% compared with 2015’s data.
London is the UK’s third most-congested city, with journey times on average increasing by 40% compared with clear roads.
According to TomTom, the average commuter in London spent 152 hours sat in traffic jams last year.
Manchester (38%) and Brighton and Hove (36%) made up the rest of the top five most-congested cities in the UK list.
The telematics giant also pinpointed the most congested day for each city, with 23 June – the day of the EU referendum – causing gridlock in England’s capital, while Belfast’s worst day of jams was on 15 November, likely caused by a lorry losing its load in the centre of the city.
According to a report published yesterday by Inrix, Belfast was the 27th most congested location in the UK.
