Europe’s most congested roads revealed & English city comes out on top with drivers spending 101 hours stuck in traffic

THE most congested roads in Europe have been revealed, and one UK city has topped the table.

A fresh analysis by Transport company Inrix concluded that London spent 101 hours sitting in traffic in 2024, a 2% spike from the previous year.

AFP

London has ranked first as the most congested city in Europe last year[/caption]

It is the fourth year running that the Big Smoke has come first in the rankings.

The total cost of the gridlock traffic is estimated to be an eye-watering £3.85 billion – an average of £942 per motorist.

Nipping on the heels of the UK capital was Paris with 97 hours of delays per driver, followed by Dublin.

London also ranked fifth as the most congested city in the world, with Istanbul taking the cake.

The average driver spent 62 hours in congestion during 2024.

Bristol was the second worst-affected city in the UK, following closely by Leeds.

Bob Pishue, Inrix transportation analyst and author of the report, said: “While the UK did see a slight increase in congestion again this year, overall congestion has remained steady.

“Roadworks in key corridors such as M25 Wisely interchange caused considerable traffic on a main artery into the capital.

“Interestingly it was cities outside of the capital that saw the greatest increase in congestion with Manchester seeing a large increase, up 13%.

“While London only had a modest increase in time lost, it still represented half of the entire country’s delay.”

Inrix pointed to the UK’s “concentration of population, employment and economic activity” as the reason for London’s high score.

The author of the report, Bob Pishue, said although there was a slight increase in congestion, it has “overall remained steady”.

“We are committed to making sure Londoners can move around the capital as safely, sustainably and efficiently as possible,” a spokesperson for Transport for London.

“We support the movement of everyone across London and our investment in walking, cycling and public transport is making it easier to choose sustainable ways of travelling, helping to cut congestion.

“Our network includes some of the busiest roads in the country and we continue to invest in world-leading programmes to make sure roads are used as efficiently as possible.”

COUGH UP

It comes after the London congestion charge was brought in last summer to encourage travellers to use public transport as well as freeing up congested streets.

The congestion charge is the fee charged to motorists driving in central London.

It was introduced in February 2003, as an attempt to reduce the amount of traffic and pollution in the capital.

It was also hoped to encourage more use of public transport as well as walking and cycling.

The scheme is in operation from Monday to Friday between 7am and 6pm and from 12pm till 6pm on Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays.

The only bank holidays on which the congestion charge doesn’t apply are Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, where the levy is axed between the two dates.

The fee is £15 a day, however, exemptions and discounts are available as well.

Regular motorists who drive into the zone are encouraged to set up auto-pay which can be done online.A yearly £10 fee for registering your vehicle is charged.