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

  • Travel information is heading towards smartphones
    January 30, 2012
    Travel information services are undergoing a step change as rapid increase in sales of smartphones brings ITS technology to consumers' fingertips. A virtuous circle of expanding capability is under way in traffic and travel information services, promising much for drivers and reduction of road congestion. A recent rapid rise in sales of smartphones has boosted numbers of vehicles carrying GPS enabled devices and so brought expansion of traffic data available for analysis and dissemination. Greater numbers o
  • Moscow wins international transport award for tackling traffic gridlock
    May 19, 2016
    The city of Moscow has been awarded the International Transport Forum (ITF) 2016 Transport Achievement Award for its exemplary approach to improving traffic conditions in the Russian capital. Following twenty years of almost uncontrolled development of urban traffic, Moscow introduced a rigorous and comprehensive set of policies to address the gridlock on its streets. These included paid car parking, development of public transport, ticketing, car sharing and taxi reform, development of cycling and envi
  • First 3D dataset of all Roads in Western Europe completed
    March 2, 2012
    Intermap Technologies has announced the completion of its 3D Roads - the only dataset to provide accurate 3D models for every road, from the largest highway to the smallest urban and rural roads, throughout Western Europe.
  • Toulouse to host ITS European Congress 2022
    May 21, 2021
    UAM will be a key component of the programme in summer next year, says Ertico