A new analysis of traffic patterns by TomTom has shown that the amount of time motorists sit in traffic jams has increased over the past year. The increase is traffic is due to the growing population in cities as well as an influx of commuters.

TomTom Traffic Index

The TomTom Traffic Index 2019 ranks 416 cities from 57 different countries based on their level of urban congestion. TomTom collects its data from its community of over 600 million drivers, who use its services in navigation devices, in-dash systems and smartphones.

TomTom gives a city’s congestion level as a percentage. Essentially this percentage tells you how much extra time a trip takes compared to the time the same trip would take with no traffic. So, for example a 30 percent congestion level means that a trip would take 30 percent more time than it would during uncongested times.

Congestion levels in German cities

Hamburg retains its title as Germany’s congestion capital with a congestion level of 34 percent, a one percent increase from the previous year. Berlin (32 percent), Wiesbaden (32 percent), Munich (30 percent) and Nuremburg (30 percent) make up the five German cities with the highest levels of congestion. Wiesbaden’s congestion levels rose the most out of all German cities last year, with an increase of eight percent.

Stuttgart, Bonn, Kassel, Bremen and Frankfurt am Main round off the top ten cities in Germany with the highest congestion. Bremen is one of three German cities that saw a drop in congestion levels, the others being Dresden and Hannover. The biggest reduction in congestion levels was in Bremen, with a 3 percent drop. Wuppertal (17 percent) is Germany’s least congested city.

Traffic patterns worldwide

Traffic patterns can provide valuable information about commuter behaviour. The pronounced congestion peaks in the mornings and evenings show us that an excessive number of commuters still choose to drive into work, despite many different options for public transport.

The topmost congested cities in the world are Bengaluru (71 percent), Manila (71 percent), Bogota (68 percent), Mumbai (65 percent) and Pune (59 percent). By international comparison, German cities do not experience significantly high levels of congestion. Moscow (59 percent) leads the way in Europe for traffic pollution, followed by Istanbul, Kiev and Bucharest. Abu Dhabi, UAE, was the least congested capital in the world.