New data from TomTom shows that Dublin is currently ranked as the 17th most congested city in the world, with congestion increasing by 3 per cent over 2018 levels. Despite this, Dublin has improved in the rankings, which previously had it pegged as the 14th most congested city in 2017, but other cities have since overtaken it. Despite this, the average morning and evening rush hours have worsened by 7 per cent.
When is the worst time to travel?
It won't come as a surprise to learn that the morning and evening rush is the worst time to try to drive around Dublin between Monday and Friday. The total time that the average person loses during this period totals 213 hours or eight days and 21 hours a year.
On average, the morning trip takes 27 minutes longer than it should, while the evening drive is longer again at 29 minutes more than when done without traffic. The worst time of the week is between 5pm and 6pm on a Thursday, with the 25th of October proving to be the day in 2019 that had the most traffic. In contrast, the day with the least amount of traffic during the entire year is the 25th of December.
Despite the increase in flexible working times, the morning rush hour now last from 7am to 10am, while the evening rush sees traffic levels increase by 68 per cent from 4pm and continue well beyond 6pm.
All of this congestion has a significant impact on local emissions levels and general quality of life for commuters stuck in traffic and those in the surrounding environment.
Dublin continues to be a hotspot for traffic congestion, and the trend shows no sign of improving. Recent figures from the CSO indicate that the average work commute in Ireland is under 15 kilometres. More emphasis needs to be placed on providing people with cheaper, more reliable and attractive public transport alternatives along with legalising personal electric mobility and improving the cycling infrastructure, which has proven successful in other European cities.
The most congested city in the world is Bengaluru in India, followed by Manila in the Philippines and Bogota, Colombia. In Europe, Moscow is the worst, followed by Instanbul, Kyiv (Ukraine), Bucharest (Romania), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Dublin, Odessa (Ukraine), Novosibirsk and Samara, both in Russa, and Kharkiv in Ukraine.