Capital has UK’s biggest rise in road congestion

CARDIFF saw the biggest rise in road congestion of any UK city over the past year, according to new research.

Rush-hour drivers in the capital lost an average of 87 hours – the equivalent of more than threeand-a-half days – stuck in traffic last year, a rise of 5%.

The figures from traffic analyst Inrix come against a backdrop of continued concerns about congestion in the city.

Earlier this year, Cardiff council unveiled a 10-year package of proposals to improve public transport, in a bid to tackle rising levels of road congestion and worsening air pollution rates.

The proposals considered by the authority included the controversial suggestion of introducing a £2 congestion charge for motorists driving into the city.

Latest statistics revealed today show UK road commuters lost an average of 115 hours stuck in traffic last year.

This cost the UK £6.9bn and a typical driver £894, Inrix estimated.

London was found to be the most congested city, with 149 hours lost per driver during peak periods in 2019.

It was ranked eighth in the world for traffic jams.

Belfast was the UK’s second worst city for hold ups at 112 hours per driver, followed by Bristol (103 hours), Edinburgh (98 hours) and Manchester (92 hours).

Trevor Reed, transportation analyst at Inrix, said: “You can reach a tipping point with a city.

“You add just enough cars to make nothing work.

“Sometimes you add one or two per cent more cars, and it causes a viscous cycle of congestion to set in.”

He explained there was a particular issue with UK cities, compared to US cities, because of they way they had developed over the centuries.

He said that London, for instance, had “very little road space and a whole lot of demand”.

Mr Reed added: “You have very severe congestion and a massive, relatively high earning population.

“UK cities are quite a bit older and a lot denser than American cities.

“London is over 2,000 years old. “When you develop around walking, and horse and buggy, and everything but cars, the urban environment does not handle (cars) all that well.”

Nottingham’s congestion decreased by 17% to 78 hours, which was the biggest drop in the UK top 10.

The A404/A501 from Edgware Road to Old Street in London is the UK’s most congested corridor, with commuters losing 44 hours last year.