A new study found that the UK has the third worst congestion in Europe.
According to Inrix, a traffic information company, drivers in the UK are spending about 32 hours a year stuck in traffic jams during rush hour.
It is calculated to have costed £31 billion last year – about £968 per driver. However in London this increased to £1,911 per driver.
Inrix chief economist Graham Cookson said, “The cost of this congestion is staggering, stripping the economy of billions, impacting businesses and costing consumers dearly.”
“To tackle this problem, we must consider bold options such as remote working, wider use of road user charging and investment in big data to create more effective and intelligent transportation systems.”
Congestion in London is among the worst cities for traffic congestion. The capital was found to be the seventh worst city for congestion with data collected from more than 1,000 cities around the world. Londoners are spending an average of 73 hours a year in traffic.
Manchester was the UK’s second most congested city, followed closely by Aberdeen, Birmingham and Edinburgh.
Analysts say a link in road congestion can be seen with the increase in popularity of online shopping as the number of delivery vehicles on the road has increased. They recorded to collectively cover 320 billion miles last year, an increase from the previous year.
Steve Gooding, director of motoring research at the RAC Foundation, put the road congestion down to “having a successful economy” and said “we need intelligent investment planned to minimise disruption during construction, minimise maintenance requirements, and provide more flexibility for the future.”
Improvements are being made. A DfT spokesman said they are spending £23billion to upgrade roads and relieve congestion.