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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.
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%
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