UK’s most congested cities revealed and London is NOT number one – where does your town rank?
BRITS have lost countless hours of their lives trapped bumper to bumper in traffic, but which city has the most congestion?
Believe it or not, London did not take the top spot – meaning one metropolis has even more cars on the road than the capital.
Researchers have examined which areas of the country struggle most with traffic jams by analysing the TomTom Congestion Index.
Experts at GoShorty identified the countries with the highest amount of low emissions zone schemes implemented to determine which cities have the busiest roads.
As the world continues to return to normality following the pandemic, an influx of vehicles are now steaming down streets.
Drivers in Edinburgh waste the most time wading through gridlock, with a whopping 80 hours going down the drain.
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As the UK’s seventh-most populous city, it’s no surprise the Scottish capital had a congestion level of 35 per cent throughout 2021.
That’s a 3 per cent rise from 2020, yet a 6 per cent drop from 2019 – but the current rate is only continuing to increase.
So if you’re heading to Edinburgh in your car, make sure your prepared to sit at a standstill for a significant amount of time.
The UK’s most congested city was closely followed by London, which boasts a population of a staggering 9million people.
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The largest city in the country ranked in second place with a congestion level of 33 per cent in 2021.
It climbed by two per cent from the previous year, suggesting public transport is a faster and more favourable way to travel.
It may also save you some cash too, instead of forking out for parking, congestion charges and ultra-low emission zones (ULEZ).
Hull tied with Brighton & Hove for third place, proving the historical areas can be a headache for motorists to navigate through.
They both share a congestion rate of 32 per cent for 2021, which could potentially be due to their popular tourist hotspots.
Drivers lose a colossal 73 hours stuck in traffic in the cities annually.
Bournemouth, Belfast, Bristol, Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester made up the rest of the top 10.
The Northern powerhouse rounded off the study in final place with a congestion level of 24 per cent.
Manc drivers lose 55 hours twiddling their thumbs in traffic each year.
Millions of Brits use their car each day for their daily commutes or to run errands – but forget about the downside of bad traffic.
Covid cleared up the roads from 2020 when people began working from home.
But the number of motorists on UK roads has slowly crept back up over the last two years despite the rising cost of fuel prices.
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We previously revealed the WORST cities for driving in Britain after a study looked at eight different driving factors.
The list was compiled by assessing congestion, the number of crashes between 2017 and 2021, cars versus car park space numbers, EV charging point availability, air quality, road condition and the number of active bus routes.
THE UK'S MOST CONGESTED CITIES
- Edinburgh – 35% congestion levels – 80 hours lost annually
- London – 33% congestion levels – 75 hours lost annually
- Hull – 32% congestion levels – 73 hours lost annually
- Brighton & Hove – 32% congestion levels – 73 hours lost annually
- Bournemouth – 28% congestion levels – 64 hours lost annually
- Belfast- 27% congestion levels – 62 hours lost annually
- Bristol – 26% congestion levels – 59 hours lost annually
- Leicester – 25% congestion levels – 57 hours lost annually
- Liverpool – 25% congestion levels – 57 hours lost annually
- Manchester – 24% congestion levels – 55 hours lost annually