In its latest report on traffic congestion in Europe, a study by TomTom (
in-car location and navigation products and services provider) has named the Polish capital of Warsaw the most congested city in Europe. The congestion study was carried out in 31 cities throughout Europe and compared the travel time during the non-congested period with congested peak hour periods to calculate the difference in percentage. A higher percentage indicates more time taken to travel the same distance during peak hour congestion. According to the report, journey times in Warsaw are 42% longer during peak periods than during the non-congested periods and 89% higher in the congested morning periods as against the 86% in the non-congested hours. The overall congestion level for Europe as a whole is 24%, indicating that travel during congested periods takes 24% longer than during non-congested hours. The top ten congested cities according to the report are: Marseille (41%), Rome (34%), Brussels (34%), Paris (32%), Dublin (30%), Bradford-Leeds (28%), London (27%), Stockholm (27%) and Hamburg (27%). In addition to indicating the congested cities, a technology developed by TomTom combines the information in its travel database with real-time traffic information and routing techniques to guide motorists away from congested routes to congestion-free and faster routes.
