Local Roads Ranked as Worst in Europe's Most Congested City

Only consolation is that Mexico City now has more traffic

Roads in West London feature in list of where drivers lose most time to traffic

June 25, 2024

The latest survey by global transportation data and analytics firm INRIX has ranked three local roads as the country’s most congested.

The nation’s worst road for traffic delays is the A40 westbound travelling towards Northolt from Hanger Lane. If you are travelling at around 3pm the average delay for 2023 was 16 minutes which would represent 63 hours lost in the year for anyone who needed to use this route daily.

Second worst was the A4 westbound from Warwick Road in Earl’s Court to the Chiswick Roundabout where a 4pm departure would saw an average delay of 14 minutes and 57 hours sat in traffic over the whole year. The same outcome was seen from anyone travelling east on the M4 past the Heathrow Interchange to Clayponds Lane in Brentford at 7am.

INRIX’s Global Traffic Scorecard, an annual report which identifies and ranks congestion and mobility trends in nearly 950 cities across 37 countries, places London as the worst affected by traffic in Europe and third worst in the world. Congestion has now returned to pre-Covid levels in the city.

New York retains top spot but there was some small consolation for Londoners as the capital fell behind Mexico City into third place in 2023 with drivers losing 99 hours to congestion over the course of the year. The average London driver is estimated to have accrued £902 of extra cost due to lost time congestion in 2023

INRIX estimates the total cost to London was £3.8 billion and for the UK as whole, the country lost £7.5 billion, £718 million more than in 2022.

All urban areas in the UK top 10 saw increases in traffic congestion and delays over 2022 but only London is in the top 25 global cities with the most congestion. Delays in London account for half of all traffic delays in the country.

Bob Pishue, transportation analyst and author of the report, “We are seeing travel return to pre-Covid levels. The UK and Europe have seen smaller increases in congestion this year than in other parts of the world which indicates that these countries have found their new travel norms. While London remains most impacted by congestion in the UK, its drop to third suggests that other large global cities have returned to pre-COVID levels of activity. As an indication of strong economic activity, increased congestion can be a positive sign for cities.”

INRIX aggregates anonymous data from diverse datasets – such as phones, cars, trucks, and cities – that it says leads to robust and accurate insights. The data used in the 2023 Global Traffic Scorecard is the congested or uncongested status of every segment of road for every minute of the day, as used by millions of drivers around the world that rely on INRIX-based traffic services.