• Top 5 most congested cities in the world: London (156 hours), Chicago (155 hours), Paris (138 hours), Boston (134 hours) and New York (117 hours).
• The average driver in the UK lost 80 hours due to traffic congestion, a 7-hour increase on 2021, down 35 hours from 2019.
• The average London driver spent £1,377 due to lost time congestion in 2022, UK drivers on average lost £707 in time.
• The annual cost of fueling a vehicle for the average commuter in London rose by more than £212. Nationally, Brits spent an additional £122 more at the pump to commute.
• In the UK overall, traffic delays increased in 79 out of 110 urban areas year-over-year.

LONDON – January 10, 2023 – INRIX, Inc., a world leader in mobility analytics and connected car services, today published the 2022 Global Traffic Scorecard that identified and ranked congestion and mobility trends in more than 1,000 cities, across 50 countries. London, for the second year in a row, topped the Traffic Scorecard with drivers losing 156 hours sitting in congestion, five percent above pre-pandemic delays. In fact, 72% (79 of the 110) of the UK urban areas analysed have met or exceeded pre-COVID delays.

Commuting in London cost the average driver £1,377. This was followed by Bristol (£805 lost time) and Manchester (£742 lost time). Yet due to high oil prices, commuters paid as much as £212 more for fuel in 2022 year-on-year, depending on location. While the average UK commuter spent £707 in lost time, they also paid £122 more for fuel due to oil prices.

Bob Pishue, transportation analyst and author of the report: “It is great to see civic and commercial life returning to normal, but unfortunately, we’re seeing congestion inching closer to, if not exceeding, pre- pandemic levels. We must manage congestion while improving mobility and accessibility in cities to avoid it hurting economic recovery and impacting the quality of life of commuters and residents.”

Drivers in London (156 hours), Bristol (91 hours), and Manchester (84 hours) lost the most time to traffic congestion in the UK. The average UK driver lost 80 hours due to traffic congestion last year – up 7 hours from last year but down 35 hours from 2019. The cities of Cambridge, Exeter, and Cheltenham – present on the UK Top 10 list in 2021 – fell out of the top 10, replaced by Edinburgh (7th), Leeds (9th) and Leicester (10th).

Table 1: 10 Most Congested Urban Areas in the U.K.

2022 UKRank (2021Rank)	Urban Area	2022 Delay (2021)	Compared to Pre-COVID	Cost per Driver	Cost per City	Downtown Speed (last mile, MPH)
1 (1)	London	156 (148)	5%	£1,377	$5.7bn	10
2 (3)	Bristol	91 (66)	-12%	£805	£175mn	14
3 (6)	Manchester	84 (66)	-9%	£742	£191mn	14
4 (8)	Birmingham	73 (53)	-9%	£646	£346mn	16
5 (7)	Belfast	72 (53)	-36%	£636	£102mn	16
6 (9)	Nottingham	71 (58)	-9%	£625	£97mn	14
7 (21)	Edinburgh	67 (45)	-32%	£593	£150mn	16
8 (10)	Hull	68 (56)	-9%	£604	£74mn	16
9 (13)	Leeds	60 (50)	-9%	£503	£196mn	16
10 (12)	Leicester	62 (53)	-15%	£551	£92mn	16

The top five most congested UK corridors were all found in the capital. London’s most congested corridor – A219 S/B from A304 Fulham Road to A297 Morden Hall Road – saw drivers lose 47 hours in 2022. This major route out of the city often experiences high volumes of traffic at peak times commuting times. In addition, the continued closure of the Hammersmith Bridge has also contributed to increased delay in the area. Outside of London, the busiest corridor was in Birmingham – A45 E/B from Bordesley Circus to Henry Road – costing drivers 37 hours. Much of this congestion occurred due to road works to make improvements to the route that have run throughout the latter part of 2022 and traffic incidents that have occurred on the route.

Table 2: Most Congested U.K. Roads in 2022 (London) 

Rank	City	Road	Peak Hour	Mins lost on average	Annual Peak Hours Lost
1	London	A219 S/B from A304 Fulham Road to A297Morden Hall Road	17:00	12	47
2	London	A202E/B from Neathouse Place to B215Peckham Hill Street	17:00	11	45
3	London	A406 North Circular Road E/B from A1Falloden Way to A110 Bowes Road	16:00	11	42
4	London	A24 S/B from A205 The Avenue to A238Merton High Street	16:00	10	38
5	London	A205 E/B from A215 Norwood Road toRavensbourne Road	16:00	9	36

Table 3: Most Congested U.K. Roads in 2022 (Rest of UK)

Rank	City	Road	Peak Hour	Mins lost on average	Annual Peak Hours Lost
1	Birmingham	A45 E/B from Bordesley Circus to HenryRoad	16:00	9	37
2	Leeds	A6177 S/B from Bolton Road to GreatHorton Road	16:00	8	34
3	Birmingham	A435 S/B from Haden Circus to WynfieldGardens	16:00	8	33
4	Edinburgh	A902 W/B from A901 Great JunctionStreet to A90 Hillhouse Road	16:00	7	30
5	Leeds	A65 S/B from B6153 Park Road to TheWhite Horse Roundabout	16:00	7	30
6	Sheffield	A61 from Moore Street Roundabout toA6101 Bradfield Road	16:00	7	29
7	Birmingham	A45 W/B from B425 Hobs Moat Road toBordesley Circus	16:00	7	28
8	Birmingham	A34 Stratford Road S/B from Camp HillCircus to Hamlet Road	17:00	7	28
9	Bristol	A4174 Bristol Ringroad N/B from Hicks Gate Roundabout to Bromley HeathRoundabout	17:00	7	28
10	Edinburgh	A702 S/B from Brougham Street to theCity of Edinburgh Bypass	16:00	7	27

How the UK cities compare to top cities worldwide
Many parts of the world have seen relaxations in COVID-19 restrictions in 2022. This is after many in the UK were lifted. This resulted in greater increases in traffic congestion in cities around the world when compared to UK cities. London’s five percent increase is dwarfed by other top 10 cities including Chicago (49%), Boston (72%) and New York City (15%).

Table 3: 10 Most Congested Cities in the World in 2022 

2022 ImpactRank (2021 Rank)	Urban Area	Country	2022 Hours Lost	Change from 2021	Change from Pre-COVID	2022 Last Mile Speed (MPH)	Change in Last Mile Speed
1 (1)	London	UK	156	5%	5%	10	-1
2 (6)	Chicago, IL	USA	155	49%	7%	11	-4
3 (2)	Paris	FRA	138	-1%	-16%	11	0
4 (18)	Boston, MA	USA	134	72%	-10%	11	-4
5 (5)	New York City, NY	USA	117	15%	-16%	11	-2
6 (8)	Bogota	COL	122	30%	-36%	11	-2
7 (22)	Toronto, ON	CAN	118	59%	-13%	10	-4
8 (32)	Miami, FL	USA	105	59%	30%	15	-4
9 (9)	Palermo	ITA	121	11%	-12%	9	0
10 (36)	Monterrey	MEX	116	66%	108%	19	-4

Access to reliable data is the first step in tackling congestion. Applying big data to create intelligent transportation systems is key to solving urban mobility problems. INRIX data and analytics on mobility, traffic and traffic signals, parking and population movement help city planners and engineers make data-based decisions to prioritise spending to maximise benefits and reduce costs now and into the future.

The key findings of the INRIX 2022 Global Traffic Scorecard provide a quantifiable benchmark for governments and cities across the world to measure progress to improve urban mobility and track the impact of spending on smart city initiatives.

Please visit www.inrix.com/scorecard for:

• Full 2022 Global Traffic Scorecard report, including rankings for the K., US., and Germany
• Interactive webpage with data and information for more than 1000 cities and 50 countries
• Complete methodology