TomTom has released its 2018 Traffic Index which highlights congestion levels in 403 cities in 56 countries. Traffic congestion has continued to increase over the past decade with almost 75 percent of cities in the index reporting increased or stable levels of congestion between 2017 and 2018. Mumbai recorded the highest congestion levels of any city last year and commuters there can expect to spend an average of 65 percent extra travel time stuck in traffic.

The Colombian capital of Bogota comes second with 63 percent congestion while Lima comes third with 58 percent. India comes in again in fourth place with drivers in New Delhi needing 58 percent more travel time. Moscow leads Europe in traffic jams and drivers underway in the Russian time can expect an extra 57 percent of travel time stuck in gridlock. In the United States, Los Angeles has the worst congestion levels but they are still far less than the cities in this infographic at 41 percent.

The only really positive side of congestion is that it’s an indicator of a strong economy. It does, of course, come with a terrible environmental impact in addition to costing commuters considerable amounts of time. Ralf-Peter Schäfer, TomTom’s VP of Traffic information, remained upbeat. He said TomTom is “working towards a future where vehicles are electric, shared and autonomous so that our future really is free of congestion and emissions”. He went on by saying that “we have the technology to make this future happen – but it takes a collaborative effort. From road authorities to governments; car makers to car drivers, we all have a part to play.”

source statista