TomTom, a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Partner of RoadSafety UAE launched the results of the 9thTomTom Traffic Index, a report detailing the traffic situation in 416 cities in 57 countries. Bengaluru takes the top spot this year with drivers in the southern Indian city anticipating to spend an average of 71% extra travel time stuck in traffic. Next in the global rankings are Philippine capital, Manila (71%); Bogota in Colombia (68%); previous years most congested city, Mumbai (65%); and Pune (59%), also in India; making up the top five most congested cities in the world.

The UAE has again done very well this year:

Dubai ranked 265th globally with a congestion level of 21% which is a decrease of 2% vs. 2018

Abu Dhabi - ranked 410th globally with a congestion level of 10% which is a decrease of 1% vs. 2018

Greater Moscow (Oblast) takes the lead in Europe (59%) with Istanbul (55%) coming a close second. Kyiv (53%), Bucharest (52%), and Saint Petersburg (49%) make up the rest of the top five. Paris (39%), Rome (38%) and London (38%) ranked in at 14th, 15th and 17th respectively.

In the US, the top five most congested cities are Los Angeles (42%), New York (37%), San Francisco (36%), San Jose (33%) and Seattle (31%).

The TomTom Traffic Index report is available online (https://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/traffic-index/), is interactive, and enables visitors to explore the traffic situation in their own city with live traffic data assisting them to make better travel decisions.

Congestion up, globally: At what cost?

Traffic congestion has increased worldwide during the previous decade, and the 239 cities (57%) TomTom included in the new Traffic Index report had increased congestion levels between 2018 and 2019, with only 63 cities showing measurable decreases. This international increase in congestion, despite being an indicator of a robust economy, is understood to cost economies billions.

Ralf-Peter Schfer, TomToms VP of Traffic Information, stated: Globally, theres a long road to travel until congestion levels are brought under control. In time, the rise of autonomous vehicles and car- sharing services will help to reduce congestion, but planners and policymakers cant afford to sit and wait. They need to use all the tools available to them to analyze traffic levels and impacts, so they can make critical infrastructure decisions. And drivers have a role to play too. Small changes in driving behaviours can make a massive difference.

Analyzing real-time incidents and congestion to anticipate traffic before it happens, TomToms Real-Time Traffic makes TomTom navigation software more accurate with enhanced route calculations and accurate estimated times of arrival (ETA). Thats why TomTom is the market leader, with its traffic technology in millions of cars on the road throughout the world. TomTom Traffic knows the road ahead, saving time, fuel and stress for drivers, fleet and logistics providers, on-demand services (ride hailing, food delivery), and traffic management services.
And the location technology experts work on the future of driving from high definition maps for autonomous vehicles, to efficient electric vehicle routing and charging means that car makers, technology companies, road authorities and governments already have the tools to make the roads less congested.

Theres also useful suggestion on beating traffic congestion.

1. Plan before you go. Taking a few moments before going out the door to inform yourself on the road conditions on the way to your destination will assist you make your alternatives and decide on the best course of action.

2. Trust technology to help you. It may be uncomfortable to take the road less traveled simply because your satnav suggests its the fastest one. Often, if you cannot see that a road is indeed congested, it is hard to believe it. Dare to take the other route offered by up-to-date navigation, because it is basing its suggestion on real-time traffic conditions on the route you are taking.

3. Change your driving habits. Most often, traffic will peak at certain times of the day, depending on area. This is clear in each of the city pages in the TomTom Traffic Index report, where we provide the average congestion level for each hour of each day of the week. Use the data available to adjust your departure time accordingly. Leaving early or late from a location might mean avoiding time spent in traffic on the road.

4. Consider alternatives. Does your trip have to be made by car? If your planned activity is time-sensitive and you cannot change your departure times, consider ride-sharing, public transport or non-motorized options such as cycling or scooters.

5. Work with your city. Ultimately, improving mobility in our cities is a collaborative effort. Together, city authorities, vehicle manufacturers, traffic signal system providers, parking facilities, traffic information providers, shared mobility providers, startups and, most importantly, the public, are experimenting and transforming cities worldwide. Inform yourself of the initiatives taking place in your urban area and how you can benefit from them.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai, UAE - Details

Abu Dhabi - ranked 410th globally with a congestion level of 10% which is a decrease of 1% vs. 2018, https://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/traffic-index/abu-dhabi-traffic#statistics

Congestion level highways: 3% extra travel time stuck in traffic; and non-highways:14%.

Congestion level morning travel peak: 17% (extra 5 minutes per 30 minutes trip);and evening travel peak:18% (extra 5 minutes per 30 minutes trip)

Dubai - ranked 265th globally with a congestion level of 21% which is a decrease of 2% vs. 2018, https://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/traffic-index/dubai-traffic#statistics

Congestion level highways: 16% extra travel time stuck in traffic; and non-highways: 26%.

Congestion level morning travel peak: 31% (extra 9 minutes per 30 minutes trip) and evening travel peak: 43% (extra 13 minutes per 30 minutes trip)

Thomas Edelmann, Managing Director of RoadSafety UAE comments: In order to further improve road safety in the UAE we need a better understanding through better data. TomTom sets an amazing example by including the 2 main UAE cities in their global survey. Traffic congestion is of key significance for road safety, because when motorists get caught in congestions, we see a lot of impolite and dangerous behavior. From our own studies we observe, that UAEs motorists give a lot of credit to the UAE authorities for constantly developing the road infrastructure. Traffic congestion adds costs to economies via lost working hours, it adds inconvenience to drivers via extra travel time and it should be avoided from a road safety perspective. It is great to see the 2 main UAE cities to fare pretty well on a global level.