Vancouver and Toronto are the two most congested cities in Canada
Vancouver and Toronto top the list of the most congested cities in Canada, according to an index of traffic congestion around the world.
Released in late January, the TomTom Traffic Index surveyed more than 400 cities in 57 countries around the world, including 12 major cities in Canada, and rated them according to congestion levels. Vancouver earned a congestion score of 39, the score indicating that an average trip in the city takes 39% longer than the same trip would require if there were no traffic.
During the morning rush hour in Vancouver, drivers taking a half-hour drive will spend an extra 17 minutes in their car, while those driving the same distance during the evening rush hour tend to spend an additional 21 minutes.
By comparison, a driver making a trip of the same length in Kitchener-Waterloo, ON, would have an additional eight minutes tacked on during the morning rush and 10 minutes in the evening rush.
Toronto earned a score of 33. Montreal and Ottawa tied for third and fourth with scores of 29—the global average score. Eight of the 12 Canadian cities scored below the average. Vancouver ranked 40th in the world, while Bengaluru (Bangalore) in India had the world’s highest congestion score: 71.
Traffic congestion has been increasing across the word; 239 of the cities analyzed saw increases from 2018 to 2019.
“In time, the rise of autonomous vehicles and car-sharing services will help alleviate congestion, but planners and policymakers can’t afford to sit and wait,” said Ralf Peter Schäfer, TomTom’s vice-president of traffic information. “They need to use all the tools available to them to analyze traffic levels and impacts, so they can make critical infrastructure decisions.”
Photo: iStock/Kichigin.
