Congestion rises 14 per cent in past five years

According to the latest annual Traffic Index from TomTom, traffic congestion in the UK’s larger cities is 14 per cent worse than five years ago.

The report showed that while traffic in the UK has worsened, the rest of Europe has become three per cent less congested compared to in 2010. It also found that the average car journey in the UK took 29 per cent longer in 2015 than than it would in free-flowing conditions.

The Index confirmed that Belfast was once again the most congested city in the UK, with journey times 40 per cent slower than in free-flow traffic throughout the day. London came second for most congested, with Manchester moving up to third place.

Ralf-Peter Schaefer, vice-president of TomTom Traffic, said: “Transport authorities are managing congestion with well-engineered policies, but you can’t just build your way out of traffic jams.

“Studies have shown that policies of ‘predict and provide’ are unsustainable. Building new motorways and ring roads doesn’t eliminate congestion. More must be done to better manage existing road space and to spread demand.”