News

Gridlock in cities costing commuters £4.4bn a year

GRIDLOCK in urban areas - including Belfast - is costing car-commuting households £4.4 billion a year, according to a report.

Congestion in London alone accounts for £2bn of the overall annual cost.

The report was compiled by studying congestion in the UK's 18 largest urban areas. It was found that the average British driver spent 40 hours a year stuck in jams, with the average for London drivers being as high as 80 hours. The overall cost figure was made up from the direct cost of fuel wasted (£441 million), the direct cost of commuter time wasted in traffic (£2.79bn) and the indirect cost to household bills (£1.19bn).

The household bills figure was compiled from higher freight and business fees as a result of company vehicles being stuck in traffic, with the additional costs being passed on to households.

As well as London, the urban areas in the study included Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford-Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The report was carried out by traffic information company Inrix and the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

Inrix European director Matt Simmons said: "Millions commute to work by car every day and these findings expose the significant economic impact gridlock is having. "Congestion is reducing productivity, leaving commuters with higher bills and less time, as well as damaging the environment."

Peter Woodman

* ECONOMIC IMPACT: Traffic congestion in Belfast city centre. A new report has found the average driver in Britain and Northern Ireland has spent 40 hours a year stuck in jams