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Britain’s Most Congested Cities

22 September 2016

By Joseph

We all bemoan having to sit in long traffic jams, yet most of us tolerate gridlock every day – on our way to work, school or a bank holiday escape, avoiding delays can sometimes be an insurmountable task.

However, some UK cities are much more congested than others, with Belfast commuters spending an average of eight days a year stuck in traffic. The Northern Irish capital may not seem like the obvious candidate for the UK’s most congested city, especially when you consider how many people commute in and out of a sprawling metropolis such as London every single day.

In actual fact, London came out as only the fifth most congested UK city, owing to its effective (and expansive) public transport network that accounts for around 25% of London’s journeys as well as the congestion charge that makes London an unwelcoming destination for private motorists. Belfast, on the other hand, doesn’t have such a widespread transport network or any deterrents to cars, with many people commuting in from rural areas where the car is the only practical mode of transport.

Manchester – the meeting point of a number of motorways – also experienced high volumes of traffic whilst Edinburgh and Hull came in 3rd and 4th position on the table. Our own Newcastle ranked in 10th place, perhaps owing to its confusing (and relatively low capacity) road layouts and a transport network that is reasonably effective in the inner city areas but much less so as you stray further from the city.

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