World's worst traffic-jammed cities
Moscow the most gridlocked city, as new survey reveals 'shortcuts' rarely workIf you thought the traffic jams on Parramatta Road in Sydney or Punt Road in Melbourne were bad, think again.
TomTom, a Netherlands-based traffic and navigation services company best known for its satellite navigation devices, released the results of its fourth annual global traffic index, and Australia doesn't feature in the top 10.
If you like spending time stuck in traffic jams, your holiday destination of choice should be Moscow in Russia. It has a 74 per cent traffic index rating, which basically means the majority of the city is gridlocked during peak hour.
A traffic index rating of 74 per cent means that a trip usually taking an hour through town during non-peak hour will be delayed by almost 80 minutes, meaning the journey would take more than double the time in peak hour.
Istanbul in Turkey scored the silver medal for the most gridlocked city on the planet, followed by Rio de Janeiro in Brazil with the bronze. The top 10 world's most gridlocked cities are listed below.
The annual global traffic index also revealed that shortcuts are often 'longcuts' and can double the time of urban journeys.
On average, TomTom reckons motorists spend eight days stuck in traffic per annum, with Chinese drivers spending around nine days a year staring at the brake lights of fellow motorists.
"Traffic congestion is nothing new, and continues to be a global challenge," said Harold Goddijn, CEO of TomTom.
Although he didn't cite bicycles or public transport directly as a way to ease global congestion, Goddijn noted that governments needed to make "smarter decisions to improve traffic flow for their cities".
"The traditional responses to congestion, such as building new roads or
widening existing ones are no longer proving to be effective," he said.
The world's 10 most grid-locked cities in peak hour:
1. Moscow, Russia: 74%
2. Istanbul, Turkey: 62%
3. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 55%
4. Mexico City, Mexico: 54%
5. São Paulo, Brazil: 46%
6. Palermo, Italy: 39%
7. Warsaw, Poland: 39%
8. Rome, Italy: 37%
9. Los Angeles, USA: 36%
10. Dublin, Ireland: 35%
Tags
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
