Lagos out as London  tops global most congested vehicular traffic chart

Lagos, the most populated city in terms of human and vehicular traffic in Africa is completely missing from the list of most congested cities in the world which showed some drivers spending almost half an hour to travel just 10 kilometres.

In London, drivers are spending almost 40 minutes to travel just 10 kilometres, while Milan is the most congested city in continental Europe with drivers travelling at just 18kph on average.

Bengaluru in India is the world’s second most congested city and Sapporo in Japan is the most congested city in the Far East, with Lima in Peru being the most congested city in South America.

Car rental experts at StressFreeCarRental.com crunched the numbers to find the drivers who are spending the most time sitting in their cars.

London drivers experience the worst congestion in the world – travelling at an average of just 14 kilometer per hour during rush hour.

Motorists in Bengaluru, India experience the second worst congestion in the continent, driving at an average speed of 18 kph at peak periods.

Sapporo, Japan and Milan in Italy both make the top five of the heaviest traffic jams, taking over 27 minutes to drive just 10 kilometres.

Drivers in Peru and the Philippines also experience long wait times sitting in traffic, as Lima and Manila also make the global top 10 list. 

Pune, India and Bucharest, Romania rank at the sixth and seventh worst congested cities in the world, taking an average of 27.2 minutes to drive 10 kilometres in each country.

Dublin, Ireland and Bogota, Colombia have some of the busiest roads in the world, with an average speed of 17 kph and 19 kph respectively, during rush hour.

In summary, the 10 most congested cities in the world as revealed by StressFreeCarRental.com are London, Bengaluru, Dublin, Sapporo, Milan, Pune, Bucharest, Lima, Manila and Bogota.

 StressFreeCarRental.com spokesman said: “It’s unsurprising to see London at the top of the league table – living in one of the most populated cities in the world means that you’ll be driving at an average of just 14 kilometres an hour at rush hour.

“Of the top 10, it’s only drivers in Bogota, Colombia who can make a 10 kilometre journey in less than 27 minutes.

“For motorists in the busy cities of Manila, Lima, Bucharest, Pune, Milan and Sapporo, the trip will take an average of 27.2 minutes.

“But it’s even worse news for drivers in Dublin, Bengaluru and London where a 10 kilometre trip will take close to half an hour.

“Drivers are experiencing slow moving traffic every day – with an average speed of only 17.9 kph during rush hour across the globe.

“And many motorists are spending close to an hour doing their daily commute because of how congested all city roads have become.

“This is frustratingly slow and none of us particularly enjoy spending longer than we already do sitting in our cars while we miss out on things we would rather be doing.

“But it is surprising not to see some of the world’s biggest cities on the list – Milan ranking above New York is surprising when you consider the population and congestion reputation in the city.

“What we might be seeing is the result of differing levels of investment into improving roads and public transport from city to city.

“As we try to meet targets on pollution and emissions, leaders across the world need to invest more time and money into helping the traffic flow more freely.

“This might involve bringing in more congestion charges for motorists, pumping more funding into improving roads as well as public transport systems, to tackle congestion across the globe”.

TOCHUKWU NWOSU