Dublin's Dysfunctional Traffic Levels Reveals A World Leader In Congestion & Lost Time

The TomTom Traffic Index, an annual report that provides data and information on traffic trends in 387 cities in 55 countries throughout 2023 makes for grim reading for Dublin motorists.

The TomTom Traffic Index is based on data from over 600 million in-car navigation systems and smartphones.Dublin is the city where commuters lose the most time in rush-hour traffic jams.

For each city TomTom calculates the average travel time per kilometer from the time it took to cover the millions of kilometers driven across the entire network in the year 2023.

The trend over 2023 confirms the general decline in average speeds in most cities: of the 387 cities analyzed in the traffic index, 82 saw their average speed remain unchanged, and 77 had a higher average speed (and therefore shorter journey times) than the previous year. In the remaining 228 cities, average speeds decreased.

In London and Dublin, the two cities with the lowest average speed, travel times for a 10-kilometer journey increased by +1 minute compared to 2022.

The increase in both the cost of petrol and fuel consumption, due to longer journey times, has a clear impact on the budget of motorists .

In more than 60% of 351 cities where TomTom aggregates fuel prices, the average budget in fuel increased by 15% or more between 2021 and 2023.

This increase in consumption naturally has a direct impact on average CO2 emissions per vehicle.

TomTom Traffic Index – 2023 Rankings

ALL-YEAR AVERAGES THROUGH 2023 (24/7)

Average travel time for a 10-kilometer trip in 2023, in minutes/seconds

Average time lost due to congestion in 2023

This ranking only reflects the impact of dynamic factors that increase base speed under free-flow conditions.

Ranking: The five most congested cities

Average time lost due to traffic for a 10-kilometer trip in 2023, in minutes/seconds.

London's road infrastructure is not the only reason why travel times are slower than in any other city in the world:

London is also the city in which motorists have lost the most time due to traffic congestion. A 10-kilometer journey in 2023 is 12 minutes and 31 seconds longer on average than the optimum journey time (i.e. with no traffic at all).

THE IMPACT OF DRIVING AT RUSH HOURS

Impact of peak-hour congestion on commuter travel times

 Ranking: The five cities where rush-hour traffic is the most time-wasting

Average time lost in 2023 for a 10-kilometer daily round trip driven at morning & evening peak hours (total 20 km/day), in hours.

Dublin is the city where commuters lose the most time in rush-hour traffic jams.

A motorist spends an average of 1h16 in his or her car to make a typical 10-kilometre journey twice a day during the morning and evening rush hours - but more than 41 minutes of this daily round trip is due to traffic jams. Those who make this journey every day lose 158 hours in traffic jams.

The situation is particularly bad in 2023, with almost 13 hours more than in 2022.

Impact of congestion on fuel price

Ranking: Cities with highest cost of driving at rush hours

Average annual fuel cost spent for a 10-kilometer daily round trip driven at morning & evening peak hours (total 20 km/day), in minutes/seconds.

                        Impact of congestion on CO2 emissions

Ranking: Cities with the highest CO2 emissions per car at rush hour

Average annual CO2 emissions based on a 10-kilometer daily round trip driven at morning & evening peak hours (total 20 km/day), in kg of CO2.

Major Traffic Trends Shaping Cities Globally in 2023

• London’s city center was the slowest to drive through in 2023, with an average speed of 16 km/h.
• Dublin is the most congested city at peak times in 2023, with daily commuters having lost 158 hours (about 6 and a half days) to traffic*.
• In 2023, average speed decreased in 228 of the 387 cities analyzed, compared to
• Get the full ranking and interactive report at com/Traffic-Index