World’s most congested cities are revealed – with London named Europe’s worst

Traffic delays are a part and parcel of life in London – and now a new study has revealed the cost of congestion in the world’s most gridlocked cities.

Escaping traffic jams in London is almost impossible if you cannot swap a car for public transport or a bike.

For those stuck behind a wheel on UK roads, the delays come at a cost as time and fuel are lost. While also being mentally taxing, constant stop-and-go driving and stationary vehicles cause pollution.

Now the traffic analyst Inrix has ranked cities based on congestion – and it is not good news for motorists in London as the city was in the top spot again.

Scroll down to see the breakdown of the most congested cities in Europe.

Europe’s worst cities for traffic delays

Drivers in London spent an average of 101 hours in traffic jams last year, according to Inrix analysis.

London trumped European capitals like Paris, Brussels and Rome for worse queues.

Last year, London traffic delays increased by 2% on the previous year and 5% from 2022.

Motorists in the Big Smoke drove at an average speed of 13mph for the last mile of their journey.

The delays are estimated to cost London around £3,850,000,000 last year – an equivalent of around £942 per driver, Inrix said.

Bob Pishue, a transportation analyst and author of the Inrix 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard, said: ‘While the UK did see a slight increase in congestion again this year, overall congestion has remained steady. 

‘Roadworks in key corridors such as M25 Wisely Interchange caused considerable traffic on a main artery into the capital. 

‘Interestingly it was cities outside of the capital that saw the greatest increase in congestion with Manchester seeing a large increase, up 13%.’

The delays in London made up half of the entire UK traffic delays.

Globally, London ranked 5th on the worldwide list after Istanbul, New York City and Chicago.

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