New study reveals most congested cities in the UK
New research shows that London has been revealed to be the most congested city in the world for the second year in a row. The research, conducted by INRIX for their 2022 Global Traffic Scorecard placed London at the top for traffic.
On average, drivers in London lost 156 hours due to congestion in 2022, with average speeds of just 10mph. The UK’s second worst city for congestion was Bristol, losing on average 91 hours due to congestion, with the average across the UK being around 80 hours spent in traffic last year.
Chicago only narrowly missed out on the top spot for 2022, at 155 hours spent stuck in traffic last year, a 49% increase from 2021. With traffic returning back to normal following lockdowns, London was the only city that saw congestion above pre-Covid levels.
The overall increase in congestion during 2022 could be due to higher volumes of light commercial vehicles (LCV), and heavy goods vehicles (HGV), on UK roads. With motorists in the UK losing an average of 80 hours due to congestion, this is calculated to have cost each driver £707 in lost time, including paying £122 more for fuel due to oil prices.
This equates to a total loss of £9.5 billion, and the cost-of-living crisis has added 25 percent to the cost of fuel for commuters on top of this. Meanwhile, commuting in London cost the average driver £1,377 in lost time.
The cities of Cambridge, Cheltenham and Exeter, all present on the UK Top 10 list in 2021, fell out of the top 10, being replaced by Edinburgh (7th), Leeds (9th) and Leicester (10th).
Belfast, Birmingham and Manchester also made the Top 10 list for 2022. Traffic safety is still a major concern as traffic returns to pre-Covid levels. New traffic laws and rules were implemented in 2022 to reduce the amount of traffic conflicts between modes and improve safety overall.
How Can We Help?
Telematics allows fleet managers to remotely view the activity of their vehicle in real time via an online portal. Every fleet vehicle has a tracking device fitted that allows managers to monitor where and how their vehicle are being driven.
Fleet managers receive live traffic alerts that are relayed to drivers to help them avoid potential jams. Our software solution integrates seamlessly with Google maps which allows you to accurately identify where the situation is developing.
Telematics enables your business to maximise its fleet operational capacity and as a result, maintain profits
Advantages of Telematics Solutions
• Plan your routes better to find the most convenient routes
• Real-time reports
• Avoid traffic jams
• Cut down on unnecessary wear and tear on your vehicle
• Reduce insurance costs by up to 25%
• Dash Cams give a full recording of any traffic incidents
• Full transparency on vehicle travel history
• Save on fuel consumption with better planned out routes
Fuel cards can also be hugely beneficial to your fleet, as they are an excellent way to manage and monitor the fuel consumption of your business. At Cambrian Fuel Card Services, we have a portfolio of fuel cards with a current network of over 8000 UK sites, including access to an extensive electric vehicle charging network under our Shell EV card.
We work alongside you to make a flexible and bespoke plan that is right for you and your business.
Advantages of Fuel Cards
• Purchase fuel at wholesale prices, not ‘at-the-pump’ prices. Savings may only be a few pence a litre but over a year will add up
• The system is free to setup and charges are only incurred if you don’t use the card
• You get access to an online portal that allows you access itemised details of all your transactions
• You can save time by using some stations in our network to both fuel up and use their facilities as needed
• You don’t have to carry cash, or keep paper receipts to sum the costs up at the end of the month
• All your cards are PIN protected and linked to you or your vehicle, offering you an extra layer of security
We are constantly looking at and investing in technological solutions to enable our customers make the best use of their fuel cards. These include:
• An 24/7 Online Customer Account Portal
• Fuel Station Locator Mobile App
You can access your fuel card account easily and at any time. We’ve worked with developers to give our customers 24-hour access to their invoices, history statements, transaction enquiries and card details.
You can also order new cards and stop card requests through the portal, and extract a list of transactions in CSV format to keep track of how your cards are being used. Our customers can access their accounts in non-business hours and can make timely and effective decisions for their business.
This service offers our customers a high level of transparency, and allows them to see where and when their drivers are using the cards.
Useful links:
To find out more about our fuel cards can help your business, click here – https://www.cambriancards.com/fuel-cards
To learn more about how our telematics devices can help your business, click here – https://www.cambriancards.com/telematics
INRIX 2022 Global Traffic Scorecard – https://inrix.com/scorecard/