The worst cities globally to be a driver are European cities followed by Latin American cities.

Driving in European cities was found to be worst, followed by those in Latin America

That’s the finding of Inrix as it publishes its 2018 Global Traffic Scorecard showing that Moscow, Istanbul, Bogota, Mexico City and Sao Paulo are the top 5 most congested cities in the world.

Billed as the most in-depth congestion and mobility study of its kind, the research is an analysis of congestion and mobility trends in more than 200 cities, across 38 countries.

According to Inrix, city age, density, geography and public transport are the best predictors for severe rush hour congestion.

The research finds that on average, Americans lost about 97 hours a year due to congestion, costing them nearly $87 billion in 2018, an average of $1,348 per driver. Boston topped the list as most congested city in America with drivers there losing more than 164 hours in traffic.

Drivers in the UK lost an average of 178 hours a year due to congestion, costing £7.9 billion in 2018, an average of £1,317 per driver. London (227 hours per driver) and Birmingham (134 hours per driver) ranked as the worst cities in the United Kingdom (U.K.) for time lost due to congestion.

Meanwhile Berlin (154 hours), Munich (140 hours) and Hamburg (139 hours) top the list of German cities with the most time lost due to congestion.

Inrix added that good data is the first step in tackling congestion.

The firm added: “Applying big data to create intelligent transportation systems is key to solving
urban mobility problems. Inrix data and analytics on traffic, parking and population movement help city planners and engineers make data-based decisions to prioritize spending in order to maximize benefits and reduce costs now and for the future.”