Worst Cities to Drive in the World

Worldwide, Boston is the worst-ranked American city when it comes to traffic congestion. The waiting time, while sitting in traffic, is 15 hours more than the next-worst U.S. cities in terms of traffic, Chicago and Seattle.

Congestion in Edinburgh has improved slightly between 2017 and 2018, but the city still ranked among the 25 cities with the greatest time lost while waiting in slow-moving traffic. The delays cost an average of about $1,400 per local driver a year.

The most populous city in Ecuador has a serious problem with traffic. Residents waste as much as a week a year just sitting in traffic. Numbeo, a crowd-sourced global database, estimates that almost 60 trees are needed to neutralize the amount of carbon dioxide produced by each car passenger a year.

Drivers in Italy’s fourth most populous city spent about a week in 2018 just sitting in barely-moving traffic. This is actually an improvement of 2% compared to the previous year. Getting through a single mile in downtown Turin takes about 8 minutes — that’s a speed of around 8 mph.

Overall, Warsaw is the 12th most congested city in Europe based on hours lost in congestion, annual change in hours lost in traffic, and speed in downtown area. Drivers in the Polish capital can expect their average commute time to take 37% longer compared to quiet times, amounting to about 40 additional minutes a day, according to TomTom, a navigation and mapping company.

Quito, the second most populous city in Ecuador with about 1.6 million residents, has incorporated a special program, Pico y Placa, as a way to control traffic, especially during rush hour. Cars with license plate numbers that end with a certain digit cannot be on the roads on some days. Rental cars also are not allowed.

Nizhny Novgorod is the fifth most populous city in Russia and one of its main IT hubs. A possible reason for the bad traffic is the city’s geography. The Volga river divides the city into two parts, which are connected by many bridges that are frequently closed for repairs. This results in long traffic jams, especially for people who want to get across the river.

Guadalajara is the second most congested city in Mexico. Drivers spent 181 hours, or 7.5 days, in 2018 sitting in congested traffic. Poorly maintained roads and frequent floods that block many streets in the summer during the rainy season disrupt traffic significantly.

Italy’s fourth most populous city is also its fourth worst for driving when it comes to the number of hours locals waste sitting behind the wheel in barely moving traffic. It takes them 9 minutes to get through a mile in downtown Naples, a speed of about 7 mph.

Locals who drove to and from work should allow about 52 extra minutes a day for their commute in 2018, that’s 43% more travel time compared to 2017. The massive delays in the capital of Northern Ireland cost about $1,600 per local driver a year.

Drivers in the capital of the Tuscany region of Italy lost more than a week just sitting in traffic in 2018. Going through a single mile in the downtown area of Florence took 7 minutes, which is an average speed of about 8 mph.

During the worst portion of the morning and afternoon commute, drivers in Brussels don’t move faster than 13 mph on average, less than half the speed than when there is no traffic in the city. One reason for the very slow traffic in Belgium’s capital, which is home to the heart of the European’s Union institutions, is the lack of efficient suburban road network around the city, which is only growing more.

The second- most populous city in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro is overall the third most congested city in South America. Drivers lost more than a week in 2018 waiting in slow-moving traffic, a 15% change for the worse compared with 2017. It takes about 5 minutes to drive a mile on average in the inner city, which is about 13 mph.

Drivers in Russia’s second largest city lose more than 8 days out of the year due to traffic congestion. Locals have to allow about 50 extra minutes a day during peak hours to get to their destination.

The city, known for its huge soccer Mineirao Stadium, is the sixth largest in Brazil. One reason for the severe traffic congestion in Belo is the huge number of cars. The city has the highest year-over-year increase in the number of vehicles on the roads among all Brazilian capitals at an average of 10% a year.

The second-most populous city in Europe, after Istanbul, is Moscow. Growth has taken a toll on the road system of this fast-developing metropolis. People spend nearly 9 days a year sitting in traffic. In addition to encouraging the use of public transport, two potential solutions the Mayor’s Office has offered are raising parking fees and limiting parking spaces.

Mexico City is the most congested city in North America. It takes drivers about 7 minutes in the inner city to get through a mile, which is an average speed of about 9 mph. The city has a subway system, but it doesn’t go to areas where the population is growing.

Traffic congestion in France’s ninth most populous city has gotten worse between 2017 and 2018. Local drivers spent 12% more of their time in traffic last year compared to the year before. It took them about 9 minutes longer to drive a mile in downtown Bordeaux, meaning they drove at about 7 mph on average.

Drivers in Italy’s second biggest city spend about 9.5 days a year locked in traffic. Inrix points to old roads, some of which date back to Roman times, as a major reason for the slow and congested traffic there.

The costs of the massive delays in London’s traffic amount to $2,200 per driver a year. As a result, London has started to make changes in road space allocation towards biking lanes, pedestrian, and public transport. The city, one of the most populous in the world, implemented congestion tolling in 2003.

Being among the most visited cities in the world comes with pros and cons — while tourism is a large industry, tourists add to already congested roads. A big factor in the congestion problem in the French capital is the age of the roads. Many date back to Roman times. As a result, cars can drive on roads that have been basically designed for horse carriages and walking.

Rostov-on-Don is the 10th most populous city in Russia with about 1.1 million residents. One possible reason for the city’s bad traffic could be its lack of a metro system and the limited tram system. This leaves people with little choice but to drive their cars or use buses and minibuses.

Driving is a known contributor to daily stress, and drivers in the Irish capital during the worst portion of the morning and afternoon commute at about 11 mph. Downtown Dublin has the worst traffic among the 200+ city-center areas the Inrix examined. It takes about 10 minutes to drive a mile downtown, which is about 6 mph.

Rome is the European city where drivers lost the most time lost due to congestion last year — more than 10.5 days. The city’s old roads are a major cause of traffic problems in Italy’s capital.

Colombia’s capital has the dubious distinction of being the city where drivers waste the most time sitting in traffic. Locals lose more than three full work weeks getting to and from work. During peak hours, the average driving speed barely exceeds 10 mph. Next, read about the absolute most congested cities in the world.