UK’s most congested cities revealed

The UK’s most gridlocked cities have been revealed, with some motorists losing nearly a week of their lives each year sitting in traffic.

Car insurance experts from Quotezone.co.uk have analysed congestion data and found commuters in London, Bristol and Manchester have lost the most time to rush hour traffic.

It’s no surprise that the capital comes out on top when it comes to hours lost in traffic, with Londoners losing a total of 148 hours (6.1 days) per year sitting in traffic. 

On average, it takes drivers nearly 40 minutes to travel a distance of just six miles in the city. 

Despite the congestion charge aiming to reduce traffic in central London, it’s still amongst the top five most congested cities.

Drivers in Bristol and Manchester are also experiencing high levels of traffic, travelling at an average speed of 13 mph during peak times and losing almost four full days to congestion. 

The fourth most jammed city in the UK is Leicester where drivers are spending around 79 hours per year stuck in traffic, followed closely by Sheffield with 76 hours. 

Liverpool and Belfast are tied, with drivers in both regions wasting three days stuck behind the wheel. 

Also making the top ten most gridlocked cities are Edinburgh, Hull and Nottingham. 

Rank	City	Time lost per year in rush hour jams
1	London	148 hours
2	Bristol	89 hours
3	Manchester	88 hours
4	Leicester	79 hours
5	Sheffield	76 hours
6	Liverpool	75 hours
7	Belfast	75 hours
8	Edinburgh	74 hours
9	Hull	71 hours
10	Nottingham	69 hours

Quotezone.co.uk CEO and car insurance expert Greg Wilson said: “It’s frustrating when you start thinking about how many hours you’re spending each year waiting in traffic.  Motorists in the capital are most impacted by congestion, losing nearly a week being stuck behind the wheel. 

“What is quite surprising is that data shows Bristol is the second worst congested city in the UK, despite being considerably smaller than cities like Birmingham, Manchester or Leeds.

“With people living in the top ten most gridlocked cities wasting between 3-6 days every year in traffic jams, there must be more steps taken to tackle congestion issues. 

“Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield, and Tyneside have already introduced clean air zones and congestion charges but we’re expecting more cities to join them in the near future, especially as the UK strives to meet its net zero targets.

“Not only are drivers wasting their time, they’re also wasting money, even a small car idling in traffic can use up to a litre of petrol in an hour. To help save money, drivers should try and plan around busy roads and peak times but that’s often not possible.

“Car sharing may be a fuel saving option for come commuters as well as economical driving – smooth braking, moving into a higher gear sooner and reducing the heat or air conditioning, to help reduce fuel waste and environmental damage.” 

As a price comparison site, Quotezone.co.uk helps millions of people in the UK save millions of pounds every year on car insurance, breakdown cover and personal finance products.