Report reveals increase in road congestion levels

Research by the traffic management company TomTom has found that over the past year, congestion levels have become more severe in eleven of the UK's seventeen largest cities, including London, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, Brighton, Belfast and Newcastle It states that on average, the overall amount of time that commuters spent stuck in traffic was nine working days. Congestion levels remained static in Glasgow, Bristol and Birmingham. In contrast, congestion levels fell in Nottingham, Leeds, Brad
November 6, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Research by the traffic management company 1692 TomTom has found that over the past year, congestion levels have become more severe in eleven of the UK's seventeen largest cities, including London, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, Brighton, Belfast and Newcastle

It states that on average, the overall amount of time that commuters spent stuck in traffic was nine working days. Congestion levels remained static in Glasgow, Bristol and Birmingham.

In contrast, congestion levels fell in Nottingham, Leeds, Bradford and Edinburgh. TomTom attributes the higher congestion levels to the upturn in the economy, which has resulted in more traffic on the roads.

However, it also suggests that in some places it could have been caused by the introduction of more cycle lanes and pedestrian zones, which has taken away some road space. The Government forecasts that traffic on local roads will increase by 41 per cent by 2040, whilst traffic on motorways will increase by 46 per cent.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Study reveals benefits of electric Beijing taxi fleet
    August 6, 2013
    The impact of introducing plug-in electric vehicles to the streets of Beijing, one of the world’s most polluted cities, has been examined by researchers from the University of Michigan in the ACS journal Environmental Science and Technology. They use big data mining techniques to understand the impact of fleet electrification. As part of the study, the researchers highlight that while plug-in electric vehicles have developed rapidly in recent years there are still uncertainties with regard to market accepta
    Read More
  • Slow development of Europe's road user charging
    April 24, 2013
    Delegates convened in Brussels for Europe’s 10th annual Road User Charging Conference in March, when both positive and negative developments came to light for advocates of more widespread introduction of RUC. Jon Masters reports. Goings on across Europe in recent months have again demonstrated how very sensitive road user charging (RUC) is politically. At the 10th annual Road User Charging Conference in Brussels at the beginning of March, a Danish delegation was notable for its absence, but Belgian governme
    Read More
  • Iteris sees red over US road deaths
    November 26, 2019
    Drivers who run red lights are killing more than two people per day in the US, says an AAA report. James Esquivel of Iteris sets out some practical ways in which this might be stopped
    Read More
  • Social media mooted for traffic management
    November 13, 2012
    SQLstream’s Ronnie Beggs discusses with Jason Barnes the potential and pitfalls of using social media for traffic monitoring and management. cataclysmic events such as hurricanes and tsunami have challenged perceptions of what constitutes robust traffic management infrastructure in recent times. Presumptions that only fixed systems could offer high levels of unbroken service, accuracy and communication bandwidth, have been taught some hard lessons by nature. In many respects wireless systems now represent t
    Read More

Highlighted Content