GROWING ECONOMY DRIVES TRAFFIC CONGESTION UP IN OVER THREE QUARTERS OF UK CITIES INRIX Traffic Scorecard Report reveals congestion increased in 77% of UK cities UK climbs to 5th for worst traffic in Europe in 2014 with drivers wasting approximately 30 hours in gridlock North Staffordshire and Greater Coventry saw the biggest increases in congestion London was Europe’s most congested city in 2014, with drivers spending 96 hours in traffic A 10-mile stretch of the A217 in London was the most congested road; costing drivers 139 hours LONDON, UK – 24 August 2015: INRIX, a leading provider of real-time traffic information and connected driving services, has published its Traffic Scorecard Report revealing UK drivers wasted an average of 30 hours in congestion during 2014. The UK climbed one place to fifth in the list of Europe’s most congested countries, although UK motorists spent 21 fewer hours in traffic than those in Belgium, Europe’s most congested country, where drivers spent 51 hours stuck in gridlock in 2014. The UK economy grew by 2.8% last year, its highest rise since 2006 and faster than any other major developed country and double the European Union average of 1.4%1. Levels of unemployment also decreased in 2014 by 21% from 20132. These factors, which are driving up consumer spending as well as spurring roadwork and construction projects nationwide, had a big impact on traffic with an increase of private and commercial vehicles on the road and more people commuting to work by car. Traffic congestion was up in 14 of the 18 UK metropolitan areas in 2014, compared to 9 in 18 in 2013. The biggest increases in congestion were seen in North Staffordshire (+37%) and Greater Coventry (+33%) where drivers sat idle in traffic for 26 and 28 hours respectively. Rising congestion levels in the Coventry area were the result of extensive, long-term roadwork schemes such as Tollbar Island3. Population growth and urbanisation are key drivers of congestion, and the UK’s population grew by 491,100 last year, reaching a record high. London’s population also experienced high growth in 2014, increasing by 122,100 people4. This contributed to drivers in the capital spending 96 hours on average stuck in traffic, 14 hours more than in 2013, resulting in London becoming Europe’s most congested city. UK’s ten most congested metropolitan areas in 2014 (ranked by annual hours wasted): Rank UK Metropolitan Area Hours Wasted in 2014 Change from 2013 (in hours) 1 London commute zone 96 14 2 Gr. Manchester 52 6 3 Merseyside 37 -1 4 Gr. Belfast 37 6 5 Gr. Birmingham 37 3 6 S. Nottinghamshire 35 -4 7 Avon & N. Staffordshire 30 6 8 Leeds-Bradford 29 4 9 Coventry & Warwickshire 28 7 10 N. Staffordshire 26 7 1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32126975 2 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/february-2015/statistical-bulletin.html 3 http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/coventrys-tollbar-island-worst-roadworks-7967655 4 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_406922.pdf “For the third year running, traffic in the UK is up,” said Bryan Mistele, President and CEO, INRIX. “The strong growth of the UK economy and rise in urban populations have resulted in an increase in the demand for road travel, significantly driving levels of congestion up across the country.” Transport for London’s Chief Operating Officer for Surface Transport Garrett Emmerson, said: “London’s continued success has made it one of the world’s most popular cities in which to live, work and visit, which also makes it one of the busiest. “We work hard to keep London's traffic moving every day, through our state of the art technology, Traffic Control Centre and focus on tackling unnecessary roadworks. We are seeing unprecedented increases in population and this, combined with strong economic growth and the consequent increase in building and construction, creates more traffic. To tackle this, we need continued, sustained investment to boost capacity and modernise London’s road network. “That’s why we invest every penny of our income in improving the capital's transport network, including an unprecedented £4 billion pounds over the next few years to transform junctions, bridges, tunnels, cycling lanes and pedestrian areas.” UK vs Europe: How we measure up Of the 13 European countries analysed in the report, more than half (53%) experienced a rise in levels of congestion in 2014 compared to 2013, reflective of steady economic growth. Nations struggling with high unemployment and low or negative economic growth typically recorded lower levels of traffic congestion compared to 2013. Countries in Europe with the highest levels of congestion (ranked by annual hours wasted): Difference Europe Europe Country avg. Country avg. between country Change in country country hours wasted Country hours wasted avg. hours GDP 2014 rank rank annually: annually: 2013 wasted annually (%)1 2014 2013 2014 from 2014 - 2013 1 1 Belgium 58 51 -8 1.1 2 2 Netherlands 45 41 -4 0.9 3 3 Germany 35 39 4 1.6 4 5 Luxembourg 32 34 3 2.3 United 5 6 30 30 0 2.6 Kingdom 6 8 Switzerland 25 29 4 2.0 7 4 France 29 29 0 0.2 8 9 Austria 31 25 -6 0.3 9 10 Ireland 21 24 4 4.8 10 7 Italy 25 20 -6 -0.4 11 11 Spain 17 17 0 1.4 12 13 Portugal 6 6 0 0.9 13 12 Hungary 10 5 -4 0.9 Britain’s most congested roads The 2014 Traffic Scorecard Report also identified the worst roads for traffic in the UK and the worst times to travel. London proved to have the busiest roads with mid-week, rush-hour traffic causing drivers to sit in traffic for up to 139 hours last year. Outside of the capital, a 5-mile stretch of the A8 in Edinburgh was the most congested road with drivers spending up to 49 hours in gridlock. 2 The UK’s most congested roads in 2014 (ranked by annual hours wasted): Road Rank Area From To (s) Distance Distance (miles) Worst Peak Period Worst Day/Hour Delay Total Year per (hours) Rosehill Weds 1 London A217 New Kings Road 10.37 AM 138.6 Roundabout 08:00 Albany Road: Shirley Road: Fri 2 London A215 9.55 PM 119.72 Camberwell Croydon 18:00 A4 Henlys Weds 3 London Roundabout: Holborn Circus 14.68 AM 113.44 08:00 Hounslow Henlys Roundabout: Weds 4 London A4 Aldwych 14.18 PM 108 Hounslow 18:00 Tues 5 London A23 Thornton Heath Westminster Bridge 8.62 AM 95.96 08:00 The UK’s most congested roads outside London in 2014 (ranked by annual hours wasted): Road Rank Area (s) From To (miles) Distance Peak Worst Period Day/Hour Worst Delay per Total (hours) Year Princes Street: Maybury Road: Tues 1 Edinburgh A8 5.15 PM 49.36 Edinburgh Edinburgh 17:00 Swinton Park Tues 2 Manchester A580 Boothstown: Worsley 7.21 AM 41.12 Manchester 08:00 A510 Mon 3 Manchester M60 J5: Northenden Mancunian Way 4.55 AM 28.60 3 08:00 Newcastle A1/A1 Washington-Birtley Lobley Hill: Fri 4 5.68 PM 27.60 upon Tyne (M) Services Gateshead 17:00 Turning for Great The Bars: Chester Fri 5 Chester A51 Barrow: Stamford 4.57 PM 26.44 City Centre 17:00 Bridge The traffic situation in Europe’s cities The INRIX Traffic Scorecard also analysed traffic in major metropolitan areas across Europe. Of the 94 European cities analysed in the report, nearly half (48%) experienced an increase in traffic compared to 2013. Whilst London topped the list of the 25 most congested European cities, Barcelona saw the biggest year-on-year increase in congestion, rising by 66%. Drivers in Barcelona experienced an additional 10 hours in traffic compared to 2013, rising from 15 hours wasted in traffic in 2013 to 25 in 2014. This increase can be attributed to a growing economy with GDP growth figures in Spain at 1.4% in 20146 – Spain’s first full year growth since 2008. Unemployment in Barcelona dropped by 3% in 2014 to 20%5, driving up consumer spending and an increased demand for road travel, with more commuters travelling to work by car. 5 http://www.idescat.cat/pub/?id=aec&n=318&lang=en 3 Europe’s most congested cities in 2014 (ranked by annual hours wasted): 2013 Hours wasted in Annual change in hours 2014 Rank Metro Rank traffic 2014 from 2013 1 2 London commute zone 96 14 2 1 Brussels 74 -9 3 6 Cologne 65 9 4 3 Antwerp 64 -14 5 5 Stuttgart 64 4 6 10 Karlsruhe 63 10 7 7 Milan 57 1 8 13 Düsseldorf 53 4 9 15 Utrecht 53 5 10 9 Ghent 52 -2 11 16 Gr. Manchester 52 6 12 12 S Gravenhage 51 2 13 14 Hamburg 48 0 14 17 Munich 48 4 15 4 Rotterdam 48 -15 16 8 Paris 45 -10 17 26 Bonn 42 4 18 22 Ruhrgebiet 42 2 19 11 Amsterdam 41 -9 20 18 Lyon 40 -4 21 37 Nuremburg 38 6 22 24 Merseyside 37 -2 23 41 Freiburg im Breisgau 37 5 24 38 Frankfurt am Main 37 5 25 43 Gr. Belfast 37 6 #### About the INRIX Traffic Scorecard The INRIX Traffic Scorecard measures the traffic congestion problem by going beyond traditional limitations of road sensors and statistical sampling techniques by analysing an historical archive of real-time data crowd-sourced from actual vehicles travelling on major metropolitan roadways.