LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the last three years traffic has declined during the first quarter, setting the tone for traffic and economic performance in the year ahead. According to results from INRIX, a leading international provider of traffic information and driver services, 2012 was no exception. Insights from INRIX’s Annual Traffic Scorecard reveal traffic fell 18 percent across Europe and 19 percent in the UK as EU countries faced challenging economic conditions.
Traffic patterns in early 2013 continued on a downward trend, with the first quarter of 2013 showing a further 23 percent decline in European congestion. Drivers across Europe spent approximately 27 fewer hours in traffic compared to the same time last year suggesting that the economy in Europe could be facing another tough year.
UK Country Snapshot: Reflecting on 2012 and looking ahead to 2013
In 2012, British drivers spent 29 hours stuck in traffic gridlock, down 19% from 2011, with Brits spending approximately seven fewer hours in congestion. Overall, motorists in the UK spent less time in traffic than fellow drivers in Germany, France and the Netherlands and 30 fewer hours than travellers in Europe’s most congested country, Belgium.
Traffic levels continued to decline steadily in the first quarter of 2013, with initial results indicating congestion in the UK is down 11% year over year and drivers are spending around an hour less in gridlock than in the first quarter of 2012.
According to the INRIX Index, Europe’s Worst Countries for Traffic Congestion in 2012 were:
| Country | Hours Wasted in Traffic in 2012 | Percent Change 2012 from 2011 | % Change Q1 2013 vs Q1 2012 |
Unemployment Rate1 |
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| Belgium | 59 | -12% | -1% | 7.4% | |||||
| Netherlands | 52 | -15% | -26% | 5.8% | |||||
| Germany | 37 | -14% | -23% | 5.4% | |||||
| France | 37 | -12% | -6% | 10.5% | |||||
| UK | 29 | -19% | -11% | 7.9% | |||||
| Luxembourg | 29 | +29% | +38% | 5.1% | |||||
| Austria | 25 | -19% | -39% | 4.5% | |||||
| Spain | 25 | -38% | -57% | 26.6% | |||||
| Switzerland | 23 | -11% | 0% | 3.2% | |||||
| Italy | 22 | -34% | -33% | 11.1% | |||||
| Ireland | 19 | -9% | -10% | 14.7% | |||||
| Hungary | 15 | -24% | -74% | 10.9% | |||||
| Portugal | 11 | -50% | -68% | 16.3% |
“There has always been strong correlation between the state of the economy and the level of traffic congestion on our roads. It tells us if people are employed and driving to work, going out to eat or doing some shopping, as well as whether or not businesses are shipping products,” said Bryan Mistele, president and CEO, INRIX. “Considering unemployment hit record highs in Europe in 2012 and European household wealth dropped 13.6% to $10.9 trillion2, it’s hardly surprising that traffic levels have dropped significantly.”
UK City Snapshot: Looking Back at 2012
London has moved up the European traffic congestion ranks to become the third most congested city in Europe in 2012. Manchester also climbed the European ranks moving from 20th to 18th place. Even with the jump in European rankings, the 18 UK cities analysed all showed declines in traffic congestion throughout the year, indicative of the impact of rising unemployment and fuel prices combined with declines in consumer spending.
Drivers in London spent a full three days of 2012 sitting in traffic, that’s over a day more than in the UK’s second most congested city Manchester, where drivers spent 45 hours in congestion. However, even in London traffic levels continue to drop, with congestion down 9% versus 2011. In Belfast, traffic dropped 20 percent and the city moved down the UK rankings from 4th to 6th place.
| Rank | UK City | Hours Wasted in 2012 | Hours Wasted in 2011 | Percent Change from 2011 | |||||
| 1 | London commute zone | 72 | 79 | -9% | |||||
| 2 | Gr. Manchester | 45 | 54 | -17% | |||||
| 3 | Merseyside | 37 | 43 | -13% | |||||
| 4 | S. Nottinghamshire | 36 | 38 | -6% | |||||
| 5 | Gr. Birmingham | 32 | 36 | -10% | |||||
| 6 | Gr. Belfast | 31 | 39 | -20% | |||||
| 7 | Gr. Edinburgh | 28 | 34 | -18% | |||||
| 8 | S. Yorkshire | 27 | 33 | -17% | |||||
| 9 | Leeds-Bradford | 27 | 34 | -20% | |||||
| 10 | Portsmouth-Fareham | 25 | 32 | -22% | |||||
| 11 | Avon & N. Somerset | 25 | 28 | -12% | |||||
| 12 | Tyne & Wear | 24 | 38 | -38% | |||||
| 13 | N. Staffordshire | 21 | 28 | -24% | |||||
| 14 | Gr. Coventry | 21 | 28 | -25% | |||||
| 15 | Leicestershire | 21 | 26 | -19% | |||||
| 16 | Glasgow | 21 | 31 | -32% | |||||
| 17 | Cardiff & Valleys | 19 | 27 | -29% | |||||
| 18 | Kingston-upon-Hull | 18 | 25 | -28% |
Wider European Snapshot: Looking Back at 2012
Of the 13 European nations analysed, the countries impacted the most by the European debt crisis had the largest drops in traffic congestion. Even the European nations with strong economies experienced a fall in traffic in 2012 with the Eurozone continually shrinking throughout the year by a further 0.6%3 in the fourth quarter of 2012. All of the European countries analysed experienced a drop in traffic congestion in 2012 with the exception of Luxembourg where congestion increased 29%. The INRIX Index outlining the largest decreases in European traffic is below.
INRIX Index Largest Decreases in Traffic in 2012:
| Rank | Country | Percent Change from 2011 | |||
| 1 | Portugal | -50% | |||
| 2 | Spain | -38% | |||
| 3 | Italy | -34% | |||
| 4 | Hungary | -24% | |||
| 5 | United Kingdom | -19% | |||
| 6 | Austria | -19% | |||
| 7 | Netherlands | -15% | |||
| 8 | Germany | -14% | |||
| 9 | France | -12% | |||
| 10 | Belgium | -12% | |||
| 11 | Switzerland | -11% | |||
| 13 | Ireland | -9% |
The Scorecard analysed traffic on major motorways across Europe, providing a comprehensive snapshot into the intractable issues of urban traffic congestion. According to the report, the Top 25 Most Congested Cities in Europe and annual average hours wasted in traffic are:
| Rank | City | Hours Wasted in 2012 | Hours Wasted in 2011 | Annual Change in Hours | Percent Change from 2011 | ||||||
| 1 | Bruxelles | 83 | 92 | -9 | -9% | ||||||
| 2 | Antwerpen | 77 | 88 | -11 | -12% | ||||||
| 3 | London commute zone | 72 | 79 | -7 | -9% | ||||||
| 4 | Rotterdam | 71 | 81 | -10 | -13% | ||||||
| 5 | Stuttgart | 65 | 70 | -5 | -7% | ||||||
| 6 | Paris | 63 | 70 | -7 | -9% | ||||||
| 7 | Utrecht | 61 | 74 | -13 | -18% | ||||||
| 8 | Amsterdam | 60 | 70 | -10 | -13% | ||||||
| 9 | Köln | 59 | 70 | -11 | -15% | ||||||
| 10 | Gent | 53 | 62 | -9 | -15% | ||||||
| 11 | ‘s Gravenhage | 52 | 59 | -7 | -12% | ||||||
| 12 | Hamburg | 51 | 62 | -11 | -18% | ||||||
| 13 | Milano | 51 | 75 | -24 | -32% | ||||||
| 14 | Düsseldorf | 51 | 61 | -10 | -16% | ||||||
| 15 | Karlsruhe | 48 | 53 | -5 | -10% | ||||||
| 16 | Lyon | 46 | 54 | -8 | -14% | ||||||
| 17 | Bordeaux | 46 | 51 | -5 | -9% | ||||||
| 18 | Gr. Manchester | 45 | 54 | -9 | -17% | ||||||
| 19 | München | 44 | 48 | -4 | -8% | ||||||
| 20 | Eindhoven | 43 | 49 | -6 | -13% | ||||||
| 21 | Charleroi | 42 | 46 | -4 | -9% | ||||||
| 22 | Freiburg im Breisgau | 42 | 45 | -3 | -7% | ||||||
| 23 | Toulon | 41 | 44 | -3 | -6% | ||||||
| 24 | Grenoble | 40 | 43 | -3 | -6% | ||||||
| 25 | Toulouse | 40 | 47 | -7 | -14% |
Big Data at Work
The INRIX Traffic Scorecard is based on analysis of trillions of raw data points from INRIX’s proprietary historical traffic database of billions of real-time data points that’s used by leading automakers, including Audi, BMW and Toyota, top smartphone navigation apps, governments, commercial fleets and news media, including the BBC, to help drivers save time, fuel and frustration every day. INRIX analyses billions of real-time data points from over a hundred sources including crowd-sourced data from a variety of commercial vehicles, including taxis, airport shuttles, service delivery vans, long haul trucks as well as consumer vehicles and mobile devices. Each data report from these GPS-equipped vehicles and devices includes the speed, location and heading of a particular vehicle at a reported date and time. In creating the Scorecard, INRIX analyses information for more than one million kilometres of motorways and secondary roads in Europe and nearly two million miles of roads in North America during every hour of the day to generate the most comprehensive and timely congestion analyses to date, covering the largest metropolitan areas in 15 countries.
The same data used to generate the Scorecard also powers INRIX Traffic, a free app that helps drivers avoid frustrating delays stuck in traffic. The app helps drivers never be late with insights from the world’s largest traffic network into the fastest routes from home to work, recommended departure and travel times, traffic forecasts and personalised traffic alerts unique to driver’s routes. More information about INRIX Traffic can be found at http://inrixtraffic.com.
About the INRIX Traffic Scorecard
The INRIX Traffic Scorecard measures the traffic congestion problem by going beyond the traditional limitations of road sensors and statistical sampling techniques by analysing real-time data crowd-sourced from actual vehicles travelling on major metropolitan roadways. More details on traffic congestion in a particular country and how each country compares to others around the world, along with an executive summary of the report’s findings are now available at scorecard.inrix.com. The extensive data powering the INRIX Traffic Scorecard is immediately available under license for further analysis and review by government agencies and commercial organisations.
About INRIX
INRIX is one of the fastest growing big data technology companies in the world. The company leverages big data analytics to reduce the individual, economic and environmental toll of traffic congestion. Through cutting-edge data intelligence and predictive traffic technologies, INRIX helps leading automakers, fleets, governments and news organizations make it easier for drivers to navigate their world. Our vision is simple – to solve traffic, empower drivers, inform planning and enhance commerce.
Whether through an in-car or smartphone navigation application, a local newscast or our INRIX Traffic app, our up-to-the-minute traffic information and other driver services help more than 150 million drivers save time, fuel and frustration. INRIX delivers traffic and driving-related insight, as well as sophisticated analytical tools and services across six industries covering over two million miles of road in 32 countries. For more information visit us at www.INRIX.com.
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