London remains world's most congested city, report claims

The UK's five most congested roads are in London, the report found

London's roads remain the most congested in the world, with more time being lost to traffic jams than before the pandemic, researchers have claimed.

Drivers in the city spent an average of 156 hours stuck in traffic during 2022, traffic data supplier Inrix found.

It was the second year in a row that the capital topped Inrix's global congestion ranking, which does not cover countries like China and India.

Researchers also found the UK's five most congested roads were in London.

The report, which covers 1,000 cities across 50 nations, found the time lost to traffic jams in the capital last year had risen 5% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

The most severely congested corridor was the A219 southbound from Fulham to Morden - a major route out of the capital - on which drivers lost an average of 47 hours last year.

This was partly due to delays caused by the closure of Hammersmith Bridge to motorised vehicles, researchers said.

Schemes such as the congestion charge in place in London aim to control traffic levels and pollution

The report found Bristol had the UK's second worst road congestion, followed by Manchester, Birmingham and Belfast.

Globally, Chicago in the US was found to be the world's second most congested city last year, followed by Paris and Boston.

The report's author Bob Pishue said: "It is great to see civic and commercial life returning to normal, but unfortunately we're seeing congestion inching closer to, if not exceeding, pre-pandemic levels.

"We must manage congestion while improving mobility and accessibility in cities to avoid it hurting economic recovery and impacting the quality of life of commuters and residents."

Transport for London has been approached for comment.

Clarification 31 January 2023: This report has been expanded to specify that the research does not include countries such as India and China.

Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail]