Global Traffic Congestion at All Time High* – But Differences between Continents
AMSTERDAM — (BUSINESS WIRE) — February 20, 2017 — TomTom ( TOM2) today released the results of the TomTom Traffic Index 2017, the annual report detailing the cities around the world with the most traffic congestion. Mexico City once again takes the top spot with drivers in the Mexican capital expecting to spend an average of 66% extra travel time stuck in traffic anytime of the day (7% percentage points up on last year), and up to 101% in the evening peak periods versus a free flow, or uncongested, situation – adding up to 227** hours of extra travel time per year.
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TomTom today released the results of the TomTom Traffic Index 2017, the annual report detailing the cities around the world with the most traffic congestion. Mexico City once again takes the top spot with drivers in the Mexican capital expecting to spend an average of 66% extra travel time stuck in traffic anytime of the day. (Graphic: Business Wire)
Next in the global rankings are Bangkok (61%), Jakarta (58%), Chongqing (52%) and Bucharest (50%), making up the top five most congested cities in the world.
Ranking of the most congested cities Globally in 2016 (Overall daily congestion level – extra travel time – population over 800,000):
| 1 | Mexico City | 66% | 6 | Istanbul | 49% | ||||||||
| 2 | Bangkok | 61% | 7 | Chengdu | 47% | ||||||||
| 3 | Jakarta | 58% | 8 | Rio de Janeiro | 47% | ||||||||
| 4 | Chongqing | 52% | 9 | Tainan | 46% | ||||||||
| 5 | Bucharest | 50% | 10 | Beijing | 46% |
Using data from 2016, the TomTom Traffic Index looks at the traffic congestion situation in 390 cities in 48 countries on six continents – from Rome to Rio, Singapore to San Francisco. TomTom works with nearly 19 trillion data points that have been accumulated over nine years. This is the sixth year of the TomTom Traffic Index.
In Europe, Bucharest (50%) knocked Moscow (44%) off last year’s top spot, with Saint Petersburg (41%), London (40%) and Marseille (40%) making up the top five.
North America’s top five most congested cities remained the same as the previous year – Mexico City (66%), Los Angeles (45%), San Francisco (39%), Vancouver (39%), New York (35%) – although congestion levels were up across the board.
Congestion Up, Globally
Looking at TomTom’s historical data, traffic congestion is up by 23% globally since 2008. But, interestingly, there are shocking differences between continents. Between 2015 and 2016, while North America’s traffic congestion has only increased by 5%, Europe’s has increased by 9%. Asia and Oceania are both up by 12%, while South America is up 7%, and Africa, by 15%. That’s a global rise of 10% on 2015.
Ralf-Peter Schaefer, VP TomTom Traffic, said: “TomTom’s mission is to transform mobility across the world, helping to create the smarter cities of the future. A big part of this transformation is to help everyday drivers to make better decisions about how they get around. This is where our expertise in traffic comes in, and it’s why we release the TomTom Traffic Index every year. It’s designed to help drivers, cities and transport planners to understand traffic congestion and, most importantly, how to reduce it.”
People can find out more about the TomTom Traffic Index, and discover where their home city ranks at www.tomtom.com/trafficindex. There’s also helpful advice on beating traffic congestion. For the first time, this year, TomTom is celebrating those cities that deserve special recognition for their efforts to beat traffic congestion with the introduction of the TomTom Traffic Index awards.
Six cities have been chosen for special recognition by an international panel of traffic experts. Each expert nominated three cities and subsequently all experts voted to determine the award winning cities from the nominated cities. Winners include Moscow, Stockholm and Rio de Janeiro. The full list of winners can be found here: www.tomtom.com/trafficindex/awards.
Ranking of the most congested cities in Europe in 2016 (Overall daily congestion level – extra travel time – population over 800,000):
| 1 | Bucharest | 50% | 6 | Rome | 40% | ||||||||
| 2 | Moscow | 44% | 7 | Paris | 38% | ||||||||
| 3 | Saint-Petersburg | 41% | 8 | Brussels | 38% | ||||||||
| 4 | London | 40% | 9 | Manchester | 38% | ||||||||
| 5 | Marseille | 40% | 10 | Athens | 37% |
Ranking of the most congested cities in North America in 2016 (Overall daily congestion level – extra travel time – population over 800,000):
| 1 | Mexico City | 66% | 6 | Seattle | 34% | ||||||||
| 2 | Los Angeles | 45% | 7 | San Jose | 32% | ||||||||
| 3 | San Francisco | 39% | 8 | Toronto | 30% | ||||||||
| 4 | Vancouver | 39% | 9 | Miami | 30% | ||||||||
| 5 | New York | 35% | 10 | Portland | 29% |
Ranking of the most congested cities in South America in 2016 (Overall daily congestion level – extra travel time – population over 800,000):
| 1 | Rio de Janeiro | 47% | 6 | Fortaleza | 35% | ||||||||
| 2 | Santiago | 43% | 7 | Sao Paulo | 30% | ||||||||
| 3 | Buenos Aires | 42% | 8 | Belo Horizonte | 27% | ||||||||
| 4 | Salvador | 40% | 9 | Porto Alegre | 25% | ||||||||
| 5 | Recife | 37% | 10 | Brasilia | 20% |
Ranking of the most congested cities in Asia in 2016 (Overall daily congestion level – extra travel time – population over 800,000):
| 1 | Bangkok | 61% | 6 | Tainan | 46% | ||||||||
| 2 | Jakarta | 58% | 7 | Beijing | 46% | ||||||||
| 3 | Chongqing | 52% | 8 | Changsha | 45% | ||||||||
| 4 | Istanbul | 49% | 9 | Guangzhou | 44% | ||||||||
| 5 | Chengdu | 47% | 10 | Shenzhen | 44% |
-ENDS-
Notes to editors
*Since 2008 when TomTom’s records started
** Extra travel time during peak hours compared to an hour of driving during free flow conditions, multiplied by 230 working days per year
About TomTom
TomTom empowers movement. Every day millions of people around the world depend on TomTom to make smarter decisions. We design and develop innovative products that make it easy for people to keep moving towards their goals. Our map-based components include map content, online map-based services, real-time traffic and navigation software. Our consumer products include PNDs, navigation apps and sports watches. Our main business products are custom in-dash navigation systems and a fleet management system, which is offered to fleet owners as an online service with integrated in-vehicle cellular devices. Our business consists of four customer facing business units: Automotive, Licensing, Telematics and Consumer.
Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Amsterdam, we have more than 4,700 employees worldwide. For further information, please visit www.tomtom.com
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