TomTom’s latest Congestion Index identifies traffic congestion hot spots in North America ~

TomTom today announces the results of its latest   Congestion Index measuring traffic congestion in North American cities between April and June 2012. The latest Congestion Index, covering 26 cities, confirms that Los Angeles remains the most congested city in North America. On average, journey times in Los Angeles are 33% longer than when traffic in the city is flowing freely and 74% longer during evening rush hour. TomTom’s Congestion Index, including individual city reports, can be found at www.tomtom.com/congestionindex.

TomTom’s Congestion Index is the world’s most accurate barometer of congestion in urban areas. The Index is uniquely based on real travel time data captured by vehicles driving the entire road network. TomTom’s traffic database contains over six trillion data measurements and is growing by five billion measurements every day. The overall Congestion Level for all the North American cities analyzed between April and June 2012 is 21%.

The top ten most congested North American cities, ranked by overall Congestion Level, between April and June 2012 were:

1. Los Angeles 34%
2. Vancouver 33%
3. San Francisco 29%
4. Montreal 28%
5. Toronto 27%
6. Washington 26%
7. Seattle 26%
8. New York 25%
9. Chicago 23%
10. Miami 22%

“This Congestion Index gives the general public, businesses, industry and policy makers accurate and unbiased information about congestion levels in urban areas,” said Ralf-Peter Schäfer, Head of Traffic at TomTom. “Because TomTom’s traffic information is so precise, we can pinpoint congestion trouble spots more effectively. When combined with real-time traffic information and routing technology, traffic starts to be routed away from these congested areas, helping to ease congestion in cities and urban areas.” 

About the TomTom Congestion Index

The methodology used in the Congestion Index compares travel times during non-congested periods (free flow) with travel times in peak hours. The difference is expressed as a percentage increase in travel time. The Index takes into account local roads, arterials, as well as highways. All data is based on actual GPS based measurements.

As well as assigning and ranking the overall congestion levels of over 26 North American cities, the report analyses the congestion levels in cities at different times of the day and on different days of the week. TomTom analyzed capital cities as well as cities with a population of over 800,000. In addition, a selection of key cities with smaller populations was included based on their regional importance to the transportation network. The purpose of adding these smaller cities was to provide a better understanding of congestion levels within individual countries. 

Individual city reports include more detailed information such as the most congested day, time delay per year for commuters and congestion levels on main and secondary roads.

A European Index report is also available.

To download the North American and European Congestion Index report, go to www.tomtom.com/congestionindex .

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