New data has calculated the cost of congestion on the economy, with findings showing that drivers in London are losing up to £1,680 per year because of traffic jams.
Unsurprisingly, England’s capital was calculated as the area where road users lost out the most, with Edinburgh (£1,219), Manchester (£1,157) and Leicester (£1,145) following close behind.
The research by transport data firm Inrix also found that Edinburgh and London were the two slowest cities for travelling by road, with the respective cities having an average journey speed of 7mph at peak times.
In total, the firm calculated that traffic hold-ups cost the UK economy £7.9bn a year, which equates to an average £1,317 loss to each UK driver.
Inrix also looked at the UK’s most congested routes, with the A406 in West London between Chiswick Roundabout and Hangar Lane being the worst traffic corridor, with an average driver spending 61 hours stuck in queues there in 2018.
Away from London, Leeds Road/Saltaire Road from Harrogate Road to Bradford Road in Leeds and the A34 in Birmingham from Highfield Road to Highgate Middleway were the two worst traffic hotspots, with 44 hours wasted in each location last year.
Inrix transportation analyst Trevor Reed said: “Congestion costs Brits billions of pounds each year.
“Unaddressed, it will continue to have serious consequences for national and local economies, businesses and citizens in the years to come.
“Although, with the help of new and innovative intelligent transportation solutions, we can begin to tackle the mobility issues we face today.”
The firm also looked at the UK compared to other global cities, with London ranked as the sixth most gridlocked city. Moscow is the worst city for congestion across the globe, followed by Istanbul and Bogota.
