London’s roads are the most congested in the WORLD
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London’s roads suffer more congestion than anywhere else in the world, with its drivers stationary for an average of 156 hours in 2022.
The A219 southbound from Fulham Road was named in a new report as the worst road in London.
The statistics put London’s car problems ahead of 1,000 other cities worldwide for the second year in a row – and comes despite motorists being charged a £15/day congestion charge in central London and £12.50 for driving in the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) in older vehicles.
The ULEZ will expand in August this year to cover all London boroughs.
London has been named the worst city for congestion in the world, according to the INRIX 2022 Global Traffic Scorecard. London’s most congested roads are pictured
The A219 South bound between Fulham Road and Morden Hall Road (pictured) was the worst road in London for traffic jams
London was just ahead of Chicago where motorists spend 155 hours in traffic, followed by Paris, at 138, Boston at 134 and New York at 117.
The average driver in the UK lost 80 hours due to traffic congestion – a seven-hour increase on 2021, although down 35 hours from 2019, according to data firm Inrix.
Officials blamed motorists for using their cars for journeys which would be better walked or cycled.
Will Norman, the London Mayor’s cycling commissioner said: ‘Two-thirds of all car journeys in the city could be walked or cycled in less than 20min. We urgently need to shift local trips from cars to more efficient modes’ of transport.’
After London, drivers in Bristol (91 hours), and Manchester (84 hours) lost the most time to traffic congestion in the UK.
A driver commuting into London paid an extra £212 in 2022 in fuel costs alone, while the average driver in Birmingham paid around £182 extra.
The average UK driver lost 80 hours due to traffic congestion last year – up seven hours from last year but down 35 hours from 2019.
In total, sitting in congestion is said to cost £707 for the average driving, costing the country £9.5 billion.
Cost for drivers is calculated by determining the median commute distance for each urban area, considering area-specified fuel prices and the car fuel efficiency for each country.
It was assumed drivers commuted 240 days of the year.
London’s streets suffer more congestion than anywhere else in the world, with its drivers stationary for an average 156 hours 2022
London’s roads suffer more congestion than anywhere else in the world, with its drivers stationary for an average of 156 hours in 2022
| 2022 Impact Rank | Urban Area | 2022 Delay per Driver (hours) | 2022 cost per driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 156 | £1,377 |
| 2 | Bristol | 91 | £805 |
| 3 | Manchester | 84 | £742 |
| 4 | Birmingham | 73 | £646 |
| 5 | Belfast | 72 | £636 |
| 6 | Nottingham | 71 | £625 |
| 7 | Edinburgh | 67 | £593 |
| 8 | Hull | 68 | £604 |
| 9 | Leeds | 60 | £530 |
| 10 | Leicester | 62 | £551 |
The cities of Cambridge, Exeter, and Cheltenham – present on the UK Top 10 list in 2021 – fell out of the top 10, replaced by Edinburgh (7th), Leeds (9th) and Leicester (10th).
The top five most congested UK stretches of roads were all found in the capital – with the worst being the A219 southbound from Fulham Road to A297 Morden Hall Road – where drivers lost 47 hours in traffic in 2022.
This major route out of the city often experiences high volumes of traffic at peak commuting times.
In addition, the continued closure of the Hammersmith Bridge has also contributed to increased delay in the area.
Outside of London, the busiest route was in Birmingham – A45 eastbound from Bordesley Circus to Henry Road – costing drivers 37 hours.
Much of this congestion occurred due to road works to make improvements to the route that have run throughout the latter part of 2022 and traffic incidents that have occurred on the route.
London’s traffic increased by five per cent – but this was dwarfed by other cities which saw much bigger rises, including Chicago (49 per cent), Boston (72 per cent) and New York City (15 per cent).
Bob Pishue, transportation analyst and author of the report: ‘It is great to see civic and commercial life returning to normal, but unfortunately, we’re seeing congestion inching closer to, if not exceeding, pre- pandemic levels.
The A24 South bound from The Avenue to Merton High Street (left) and the A205 East bound from Norwood Road to Ravensbourne Road (right) were amongst the worst roads for traffic in the capital
Outside of London, the busiest route was in Birmingham – A45 eastbound from Bordesley Circus to Henry Road – costing drivers 37 hours
| Rank | Urban area | Road name | Part of road | Peak hour | 2022 peak minutes lost | 2022 hours lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham | A45 East bound | Bordesley Circus to Henry Road | 4pm | 9 | 37 |
| 2 | Leeds | A6177 South bound | Bolton Road to Greater Horton Road | 4pm | 8 | 34 |
| 3 | Birmingham | A435 South bound | Haden Circus to Wynfield Gardens | 4pm | 7 | 33 |
| 4 | Edinburgh | A902 West bound | Great Junction Street to Hillhouse Road | 4pm | 7 | 30 |
| 5 | Leeds | A65 South bound | Park Road to White Horse Roundabout | 4pm | 7 | 30 |
| 6 | Sheffield | A61 North bound | Moore Street Roundabout to Bradfield Road | 4pm | 7 | 29 |
| 7 | Birmingham | A45 West bound | Hobs Moat Road to Bordesley Circus | 4pm | 7 | 28 |
| 8 | Birmingham | A34 South bound | Camp Hill Circus to Hamlet Road | 5pm | 7 | 28 |
| 9 | Bristol | A4174 North bound | Hicks Gate Roundabout to Bromley Heath Roundabout | 5pm | 7 | 28 |
| 10 | Edinburgh | A702 South bound | Brougham Street to City of Edinburgh bypass | 4pm | 7 | 27 |
‘We must manage congestion while improving mobility and accessibility in cities to avoid it hurting economic recovery and impacting the quality of life of commuters and residents.’
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