Average travel times increased in 21 of the 25 UK cities covered by TomTom’s Traffic Index, new data published today (Wednesday, January 10) shows.

In London and Leeds, the increase was 2.7% compared with 2022, with only two cities, Coventry and Glasgow, recording a fall in average travel times by 1% and 1.1% year-on-year, respectively.

The new data, published as part of the annual TomTom Traffic Index, details traffic trends seen in 387 cities across 55 countries throughout 2023.

The impact of traffic congestion was greatest at peak hours, with Brits driving, on average, 43 minutes per day when commuting during rush hours (based on a home-to-work distance of six miles, driven at morning and evening peaks), which was up by one minute from 2022 and four minutes from 2021.

London remains the slowest city in the world to drive in

London was named as the slowest city in the world to drive in for the second consecutive year.

On average, drivers in the capital needed more than 36 minutes and 2 seconds to drive just six miles (10 mph), which is almost one minute more than in 2022.

Due to London’s road infrastructure, including the absence of fast roads and speed limit changes to 20mph, the capital has a low base speed – meaning that even in optimal traffic conditions, the average speed in London is slower than any other city in the world.

Manchester was the second slowest city in the UK, sitting at 29th in the global ranking with 22 minutes 41 seconds needed to drive just six miles on average.

Ranking: Top 5 slowest UK cities to drive in

		2023	vs 2022				2023	vs 2022
1.	London	36 min.02’’	+00 min.57’’		6.	Sheffield	19 min.57’’	+00 min.19’’
2.	Manchester	22 min.41’’	+00 min.19’’		7.	Leicester	19 min.18’’	+00 min.28’’
3.	Liverpool	22 min.02’’	+00 min.28’’		8.	Nottingham	19 min.09’’	+00 min.10’’
4.	Bristol	21 min.53’’	+00 min.09’’		9.	Cardiff	18 min.01’’	+00 min.19’’
5.	Edinburgh	20 min.46’’	=		10.	Bournemouth	17 min.51’’	+00 min.19’’

Average travel time for a six-mile trip in 2023, in minutes/seconds. Source: TomTom.

Average time lost due to congestion in 2023

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

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.

Therefore, a 12-mile journey in 2023 was 12 minutes and 31 seconds longer on average than the optimum journey time (i.e. with no traffic at all).

During peak hours, the average speed dropped to just 8.5 mph.

Ranking: Top 10 most congested UK cities

#	City²	2023	vs 2022		#	City²	2023	vs 2022
1.	London	12 min.05’’	+00 min.32’’		6.	Sheffield	05 min.18’’	+00 min.15’’
2.	Manchester	06 min.12’’	+00 min.05’’		7.	Leicester	05 min.25’’	+00 min.19’’
3.	Liverpool	05 min.37’’	+00 min.13’’		8.	Nottingham	04 min.32’’	+01 min.07’’
4.	Bristol	06 min.09’’	+00 min.05’’		9.	Cardiff	04 min.39’’	+00 min.15’
5.	Edinburgh	05 min.59’’	+00 min.01’’		10.	Reading	04 min.03’’	+00 min.09’’

Average time lost due to traffic for a six-mile trip in 2023, in minutes/seconds. Source: TomTom.

Ranking: The 10 UK cities where rush-hour traffic is the most time-wasting

City centre (5km radius around centre)	Av. travel time /day	Av. time lost due to traffic
		per day	per year	vs. 2022
London	1 hr. 25 min.	37 min. 21’’	143 hrs.	+8 hrs. 58 min.
Bristol	0 hr. 54 min.	22 min. 37’’	86 hrs.	+5 hrs. 39 min.
Manchester	0 hr. 55 min.	22 min. 23’’	85 hrs.	+2 hrs. 35 min.
Leicester	0 hr. 47 min.	20 min. 01’’	76 hrs.	+5 hrs. 32 min.
Sheffield	0 hr. 48 min.	19 min. 17’’	73 hrs.	+3 hrs. 39 min.
Liverpool	0 hr. 51 min.	19 min. 06’’	73 hrs.	+5 hrs. 59 min.
Belfast	0 hr. 41 min.	19 min. 03’’	73 hrs.	+8 hrs. 41 min.
Edinburgh	0 hr. 48 min.	18 min. 53’’	72 hrs.	+1 hrs. 22 min.
Hull	0 hr. 43 min.	18 min. 08’’	69 hrs.	+2 hrs. 57 min.
Nottingham	0 hr. 46 min.	17 min. 27’’	66 hrs.	+15 hrs. 20 min.

Average time lost in 2023 for a home-to-work distance of 6 miles driven at morning & evening peak hours (total 12 mi/day), in hours. Source: TomTom.

New data published in the annual TomTom Traffic Index also shows the impact of congestion on the cost of driving. Click here to read more from Fleet News.