Belfast motorists face 'third worst rush hour in UK'
Drivers in rush-hour Belfast spend an average extra travel time of 34% as they face the third worst congestion in the UK, according to new figures.
Drivers in Edinburgh face the worst traffic congestion in the UK, with analysis by sat-nav manufacturer TomTom suggesting that a typical rush-hour journey in the Scottish capital takes 40% longer compared with free-flow conditions.
London is the second worst city for congestion with an average extra travel time of 37%, followed by Bournemouth, Hull and Belfast with 34% each.
On average, UK motorists driving in peak hours spend an extra five-and-a-half days stuck in traffic each year.
Middlesbrough was found to be the least congested UK town or city analysed by TomTom.
A 10-year plan to further improve traffic flow in the town - including a new 'park and ride' railway station - was announced in December 2018.
Mumbai took top spot, with drivers facing an average of 65% extra travel time in the Indian city.
Heiko Schilling, head of navigation at TomTom, said: "The UK was home to nine cities in the top 100 most congested cities globally ... These results show that there's still a lot of work to be done."
Despite Belfast's poor showing, it actually marks an improvement. In 2017, TomTom found that drivers' average rush-hour journeys in Belfast were 43% longer than they should be.
Belfast Telegraph
