Edinburgh is the UK’s most congested city

The next most congested UK cities were London (38%), Brighton and Hove (35%), Bournemouth (34%) and Hull (34%). 

Key findings: 

• Edinburgh is the most congested city in the UK (ranked 33rd in the world), with congestion worsening since 2018 – but only by one percent.
• On average, Brits driving in peak hours will spend an extra 6 days in traffic each year.
• The most congested day of the year in London was 12th December, coinciding with the 2019 UK General Election. The day with the least traffic in the capital was Christmas Day.
• Midlands commuters suffer the worst congestion in the whole of the UK. On average, they waste six days (160 hours) in traffic during peak time in 2019. In the Midlands, Coventry saw the lowest waiting times (117 hours) and Leicester experienced the highest in peak time (149 hours).
• Scots experience the second-worst congestion in the UK. Scottish commuters wasted six days (145 hours) in traffic during peak time in 2019, with Glaswegians seeing the best (119 hours) and commuters in Edinburgh suffering the worst waiting times (172 hours).
• On average, Northerners are wasting more than five days (134 hours) in traffic during peak time per year. Manchester wastes the most time in peak hours (158 hours) with Middlesbrough wasting the least (87 hours).
• Southerners waste slightly more time (137 hours, or almost six days) in traffic during peak time per year. Bristol commuters see the highest waiting times (149 hours) and Portsmouth the lowest (108 hours).
• Congestion worsened significantly in the capital. Londoners spent six days and five hours in peak hour traffic in 2019 – an increase of two hours from 2018.
• Reading saw the largest increase in traffic of any UK city. Congestion was up by eight percent, the second biggest increase in the world. Southampton and Stoke-on-Trent also saw considerable increases, of six and four percent respectively.
• Coventry experienced the country’s best improvement in traffic, with congestion dropping by four percent. Traffic in Coventry had increased by nine percent in the previous year, making it the country’s highest growth area for congestion.
• The UK was home to ten of the world’s top 100 most congested cities in 2019. In order, they were: Edinburgh (33rd), London (45th), Brighton and Hove (63rd), Bournemouth (69th), Hull (73rd), Belfast (76th), Southampton (79th), Bristol (83rd), Reading (89th) and Leicester (98th).
• Bengaluru was named the most congested city in the world, with drivers facing an average of ten days and three hours extra travel time.

Stephanie Leonard, UK Traffic Advisor at TomTom, commented: “The UK was home to ten of the world’s 100 most congested cities in 2019: Edinburgh, London, Brighton & Hove, Bournemouth, Hull, Belfast, Southampton, Bristol, Reading and Leicester. While overall congestion was only up by only 1% this year, the country is still moving in the wrong direction and it’s time for traffic to change.”

“It’s clear the UK still has a long road to travel until congestion levels are brought under control. In time, the rise of autonomous vehicles and car-sharing services will help alleviate congestion across the country, but planners and policymakers can’t afford to sit and wait. They need to use all the tools available to them to analyse traffic levels and impacts, so they can make critical infrastructural decisions.”

Bengaluru takes the top spot this year with drivers in the southern Indian city expecting to spend an average of 71% extra travel time stuck in traffic. Next in the global rankings are Philippine capital, Manila (71%); Bogota in Colombia (68%); last year’s most congested city, Mumbai (65%) and Pune, in India (59%); making up the top five most congested cities in the world.

Moscow takes the lead in Europe (59%) with Istanbul (55%) coming a close second. Kyiv (53%), Bucharest (52%), and Saint Petersburg (49%) make up the rest of the top five. Paris (39%), Rome (38%) and London (38%) ranked in at 14th, 15th and 17th respectively.

In the US, the top five most congested cities are Los Angeles (42%), New York (37%), San Francisco (36%), San Jose (33%) and Seattle (31%).