Skip to main content

Brussels still the most congested city in Europe

The results of the latest traffic study from TomTom are in, revealing some of the most congested hotspots in Europe. Brussels is still topping the chart as the most congested city in Europe and congestion in the Belgian Capital is getting worse, showing a 1.2% increase in traffic since 2010.
April 20, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSThe results of the latest traffic study from 1692 TomTom are in, revealing some of the most congested hotspots in Europe. Brussels is still topping the chart as the most congested city in Europe and congestion in the Belgian Capital is getting worse, showing a 1.2% increase in traffic since 2010.

The study also brings gloomy traffic news for the UK. Bustling capital city London - in spite of a 0.2% decrease in traffic - climbs up the rankings to take third place in the most congested city list, while Edinburgh and Manchester both feature in the top ten. In fact, a total of 16 UK cities feature in the top 50 - making the UK undoubtedly 2011's most gridlocked European country.

But it’s not all bad news. Six of the continent’s most congested cities have significantly reduced traffic since 2010. Polish city Wroclaw has seen a 2.6% drop, moving it down to fourth place out of 50. Meanwhile, Toulouse in France has reduced congestion by an impressive 1.9%, making it fifth in the rankings with 33% of roads congested in the city.

In comparison, the German city of Cologne sits at the bottom of the top 50; only 18.9% of its roads are congested. But Germany still features six times in the overall list.

The data shows that you'll have the most stress-free trip in Spain, Switzerland, Norway, Hungary, Ireland or the Czech Republic, each of which has only one city in the top 50.

The most positive change of all has been made by Ireland. While Belfast still sits at number 12, there has been a reduction of 2% in traffic congestion over the last year. And Dublin has reduced its traffic by a staggering 9.7% since 2010 – although at 24.2%, it's still got some way to go to beat traffic-efficient Cologne.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Gothenburg’s year of congestion charging
    April 9, 2014
    A year after it went live, Colin Sowman examines the technology used for Gothenburg’s congestion charging system and the effect the scheme has had on commuters. When it comes to long-term planning, the Scandinavians take some beating.The West Swedish Agreement is a case in point. Introduced in 2009, the Agreement runs through to around 2027 and aims to create an attractive, sustainable and growing region, and over that timescale the number of journeys is expected to increase by a third. Therefore the Agreem
  • Mobile communications could revolutionise traffic management
    February 1, 2012
    Rudolf Mietzner looks at how machine-to-machine technologies and applications will affect the automotive sector in the coming years
  • Budapest to introduce congestion charge
    June 18, 2012
    In line with a new proposal, the local municipality Budapest, the Hungarian capital, will be able to collect a congestion charge from motorists for using its roads. The bill enables the introduction of variable charges for different kinds of vehicles and zones in the city. Istvan Tarlos, mayor of Budapest, has said that motorists entering the city centre would be required to pay a one-off congestion charge of between US$1.70 and $2.00. However, the borders of the planned congestion zone are still under disp
  • Make traffic policing and casualty reduction a priority, says charity
    April 29, 2015
    A report released this week by road safety charity Brake and Direct Line has revealed that nearly half of UK drivers (49 per cent) admit to breaking traffic laws. Of those, half say they do so through inattention, while the other half admit to doing so deliberately, because they think they can get away with it or do not agree with the laws. When asked what unsafe driving behaviour they witnessed most, 71 per cent cited distraction such as from mobile phones, followed by tailgating speeding (67 per ce