New data has revealed that London is once again the most congested city in the world, topping the charts for the second year in a row.
The latest INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard places London at the top of the traffic league. On average, drivers in the capital lost 156 hours due to congestion in 2022, and averaged speeds of just 10mph.
This is far ahead of the 91 hours lost by drivers in Bristol, the UK’s second-worst city for congestion, and almost double the UK average of 80 hours spent in traffic last year.
An international problem
In the Global Traffic Scorecard, Chicago narrowly missed out on the top spot for 2022. The Windy City saw drivers spend 155 hours gridlocked in congestion last year, making for a 49 percent increase from 2021.
Paris completed the podium positions, with drivers delayed by an average of 138 hours in the French capital. This represented a one percent fall from 2021. As in Chicago, Paris drivers typically managed to reach just 11mph on urban roads.
Boston, Massachusetts and New York City completed the five worst cities for congestion, with the United States accounting for half of the top 10.
Despite a notorious reputation for traffic, Los Angeles was placed in 14th position. LA drivers spent only 95 hours in traffic during 2022.
The £9.5 billion cost of congestion
INRIX notes that whilst 10 areas in the UK saw increases in traffic volumes, only London saw congestion above pre-Covid levels.
The overall increase in congestion during 2022 is potentially due to higher volumes of light commercial vehicles (LCV), and heavy goods vehicles (HGV), on UK roads.
LCV traffic rose by 95 percent compared to pre-Covid days, with HGVs up by 88 percent.
With motorists in the UK losing an average of 80 hours due to congestion, INRIX has calculated this cost each driver £707 in lost time.
This equates to a total cost to the country of £9.5 billion.
The continuing cost-of-living crisis has added 25 percent to the cost of fuel for commuters, too.
2022 UK Top Ten Areas For Congestion
| Rank | Urban Area | 2022 Delay | City Centre Speed | 2022 Cost per City |
| 1 | London | 156 Hours | 10mph | £5.7bn |
| 2 | Bristol | 91 Hours | 14mph | £175m |
| 3 | Manchester | 84 Hours | 14mph | £191m |
| 4 | Birmingham | 73 Hours | 16mph | £346m |
| 5 | Belfast | 72 Hours | 16mph | £102m |
| 6 | Nottingham | 71 Hours | 14mph | £97m |
| 7 | Edinburgh | 67 Hours | 16mph | £150m |
| 8 | Hull | 68 Hours | 16mph | £74m |
| 9 | Leeds | 60 Hours | 16mph | £196m |
| 10 | Leicester | 62 Hours | 16mph | £92m |
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