London really IS the most congested city in the world: Drivers take 42.5 minutes to travel just 6.2 MILES on average, report reveals

It is pretty common knowledge that no one is getting anywhere quickly when they get behind the steering wheel in central London during rush hour.

But a report from TomTom has revealed that it is actually they worst city in the world for congestion at peak times.

It takes drivers an average of 42.5 minutes to travel just 6.2 miles (10 km) in a petrol car, with 43 per cent of that time being the result of traffic.

For comparison, it takes just 32 minutes to drive the same distance in Paris, 28 minutes in Manchester and 25 minutes in Los Angeles. 

But coming in second and third place respectively are Bucharest in Romania and Dublin in Ireland, where it takes about 36 minutes for this journey at peak time.

TomTom has created a report, titled ‘TomTom Traffic Index 2022’, detailing the fuel consumption, travel times and carbon dioxide emissions of drivers in 50 global cities. Pictured: Time taken to drive 6.2 miles (10 km) in peak time rush hour (dark blue) and when the traffic was lowest (light blue) in different cities

TomTom has created a report, titled ‘TomTom Traffic Index 2022’, detailing the fuel consumption, travel times and carbon dioxide emissions of drivers in 50 global cities.

Real-time data was collected from 600 million active devices, including sat navs, smartphone apps and telematics systems, and was combined with fuel prices in different countries.

Emissions calculations were made by inputting a vehicle’s speed, efficiency and fuel type into a simulation tool developed at the Graz University of Technology.

Thanks to its astronomical travel times, London also ranked first of all cities for highest fuel consumption per mile in 2022.

It took 1.47 litres of petrol or 1.27 litres of diesel to drive just 10 miles (16 km) across the capital – a 2.5 per cent increase on 2021.

‘The ongoing train strikes heavily affected levels of traffic congestion, with commuters opting to use vehicles to get around cities in the absence of train services,’ said Andy Marchant, a Traffic Expert at TomTom.

‘In London specifically, a lack of black cab drivers may also have prompted more drivers into the city.’

Fuel prices in the UK also mean that Londoners are paying £1.79 to drive 6.2 miles (10 km) – more than anyone else in the world.

The next most expensive places to drive this distance were Athens, where it costs £1.66, and Oslo, where it costs £1.64.

On the other hand, the cheapest places to drive 6.2 miles (10 km) are in the USA, with it costing £0.55 in Knoxville, Tennessee and £0.61 in Atlanta, Georgia.