UK road congestion
The UK economy lost £6.9bn last year to traffic congestion, the research found. Credit: Alexander Grishin from Pixabay.

A new study by traffic analyst Inrix has found that UK road commuters lost an average of 115 hours in traffic congestion last year.

The loss represents nearly a £6.9bn hit to the national economy, averaging £894 a year per driver.

Inrix’s 2019 Global Traffic Scorecard assessed a total of 102 urban areas in the UK.

It found that London is the most congested city, where a commuter typically loses 149 hours a year to congestion. This was followed by Belfast (112 hours), Bristol (103 hours), Edinburgh (98 hours) and Manchester (92 hours).

The A404 / A501, A4 and M25 were identified as the most congested corridors in the UK.

Inrix transportation analyst Trevor Reed said: “Congestion costs drivers, businesses and the UK economy billions of pounds each year.

“With the rising price of motoring, consumers are getting hit hardest. With the UK budget due soon, hopefully the Chancellor will take the opportunity to address this issue with continued investments in transport networks.”

Reed added that the High Speed 2 rail network, which was recently approved by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will help in reducing car use in the long run.

Globally, Colombian capital city Bogota topped the list of most congested cities, with drivers losing 191 hours a year to traffic jams. Overall, the research included more than 900 cities across 43 countries.

Inrix also suggested that the application of big data to create intelligent transportation systems can help in reducing congestion.