Europe’s top 10 most congested cities

Istanbul is the most congested city in Europe at rush hour, according to a new study by sat-nav giant TomTom.

The latest research uses anonymous traffic data recorded from TomTom users’ sat-nav systems in order to analyse and compare travel times during non-congested, free-flow periods with journeys made during peak hours.

Sat-nav catastrophes

Are we lost without sat-nav?

Taking into account local roads, arterial routes and highways, the results were then expressed as a percentage increase in travel time, with Turkey’s capital coming out on top. Or rather, worst.

TomTom found that trips in Istanbul took 57% longer to complete during rush hour than in free-flowing periods, with an evening peak journey time taking one and a quarter times longer again than when the roads were quiet.

Interestingly, UK cities did not feature in the top 10 – the busiest British city recorded was Bradford/Leeds – it came in in 17th spot, with an average increase in journey times of 27% during rush hour, 1% more than London.

By comparison, the worst US city for rush hour congestion was (unsurprisingly) Los Angeles, with a 37% difference in travel time. The smaller relative difference here and in places like London presumably reflects the greater amount of round-the-clock traffic.

The top 10 most congested cities in Europe according to TomTom’s data are as follows:

City, Country – percentage increase in journey times over non-congested period

1 ) Istanbul, Turkey – 57%

2 ) Warsaw, Poland – 45%

3 ) Marseille, France – 42%

4 ) Palermo, Italy – 40%

5 ) Rome, Italy – 34%

6 ) Paris, France – 34%

7 ) Stuttgart, Germany – 33%

8 ) Brussels, Belgium – 33%

9 ) Hamburg, Germany – 32%

10 ) Stockholm, Sweden – 30%

Sat-nav summit called by Government

Sat-nav catastrophes

Are we lost without sat-nav?