New Delhi: London retains its title as the world’s slowest city for driving, according to data from the TomTom Traffic Index released on January 10. The carbon dioxide (CO2) impact of petrol vehicles in London increased by 1.5%, based on traffic trends observed in 2023 across 387 cities in 55 countries.
The TomTom index ranks major cities based on their average travel time, revealing that average travel times increased in 21 out of 25 UK cities. London and Leeds experienced a 2.7% increase compared to 2022, while Coventry and Glasgow were the only cities with a decrease, recording a fall of 1% and 1.1%, respectively.
The impact of traffic congestion was most pronounced during peak hours, with commuters spending an average of 43 minutes per day driving in rush hours, according to a Fleet News report. This is based on a six-mile home-to-work distance during morning and evening peaks, up one minute from 2022 and four minutes from 2021.
Despite the implementation of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) four years ago, City Hall data indicated that congestion persists in central London, although overall air pollution and carbon emissions from road traffic have decreased.
London’s slow average speed, according to TomTom, is due to the lack of multi-lane highways and speed limits set at 20mph. This means that even in light traffic, London’s average speed is slower than any other city in the world.
Stephanie Leonard, head of government and regulatory affairs at TomTom, commented on the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) and highlighted the continued need for effective traffic management to ensure smooth traffic flow with the growing prevalence of EVs.
According to Business Green, Leonard said, “Real-time data intelligence will play a significant role here in transforming how people move around UK cities, supporting our transition to less diesel and petrol consumption and more sustainable transportation.”
She added, “Low emission zones (LEZs) across Europe have proven to make a long-term difference to the levels of pollutants and greenhouse gases in urban environments. Above all, they ensure that drivers of polluting vehicles are disincentivised from driving into city centres by levying heavy charges.”
“However, the best thing to hope for is the UK’s LEZs become irrelevant as the volume of electric vehicles (EVs) increases in line with other regulations that ban the sale of combustion engine vehicles,” she further said.