The UK Towns With the Worst Rush Hour Traffic Revealed — Is Yours on the List?

Motor trade insurance provider ChoiceQuote has today ranked the UK’s top commuter towns by ‘delay per mile,’ to see which areas suffer from the most and least with congestion during peak hours.

By analysing traffic and congestion data across 200 towns serving the UK’s 20 largest cities, ChoiceQuote has revealed that UK commuters are losing 167 hours a year to delays*, which equates to a financial cost of £3,010 per person based on UK average hourly earnings. Alongside this significant “time tax”, commuter congestion on UK roads also contributes to daily stress and reduced productivity.

Works commuting from Arnold most affected by delays

Despite being situated just 3.7 miles from Nottingham’s city centre, Arnold is most affected by commuting disruption, with an average delay of over 6 minutes per mile. Therefore, a journey which would take 12 minutes during quieter times, rises to 35 minutes during peak times.

The Belfast suburb of Dundonald takes 2nd place, with commuters losing 207 hours every year to delays, while commuters travelling from Prestwich face on average 19 minutes of delays per journey despite being situated just 4.4 miles from Manchester’s city centre.

Similarly, Belfast’s Castlereagh suffers a 4.06 mins delay per mile, despite being only 3.2 miles from the city centre, adding 13 minutes onto commuters’ journeys during peak hours.

Stockport takes 5^th position. While the commuter town is situated just 6.9 miles away from Manchester’s city centre, driving commuters can expect to face average delays of 27 minutes (3.91 mins per mile).

Cheadle residents enjoy smoothest average commute

Despite being situated 40.7 miles from Stoke-on-Trent, those commuting from Cheadle have an average delay-per-mile of under a minute. Therefore, a journey which would take 52.5 minutes increases by only 10 minutes in rush hour.

Plymouth dominates the ‘top 5’ rankings with three of its popular commuter towns included: South Brent (0.27 mins per mile), Ivybridge (0.30 mins per mile), and Newton Abbot (0.33 mins per mile). Noticeably, Ivybridge records one of the lowest annual ‘traffic tax’, with hours lost to commuting equating to just £552, followed closely by South Brent at £621.

While the commute from Peterborough to London is the longest recorded, at 101 miles, it ranks as the 5th most efficient commute in the UK. With a delay per mile of less than half a minute, it is over ten times more efficient than short distance commutes from Stockport or Prestwich into Manchester.

Where in the UK is the average city-wide delay the highest?

When looking at city-wide averages, London, Birmingham, and Manchester recorded the lowest average delay per mile across their top 10 most popular surrounding commuter towns, highlighting that the UK’s largest hubs are often the most efficient for commuters, despite having a larger number of workers travelling to them.  

Chris Galloway, Head of Trading at insurance broker ChoiceQuote, comments:

“When considering somewhere to settle down, many people prioritise distance to their place of work, with the likelihood of traffic and disruption often overlooked. However, regardless of how close you live to a central hub, peak hour congestion can easily double or triple travel times. In some cases, this results in commuters in towns such as Hatfield and Stevenage losing almost 500 hours to commuting annually, which tallies to almost 13 full work weeks.

The ‘traffic tax’ doesn’t just eat into commuters’ personal and working time though, as the constant stop-start driving in heavy congestion can lead to vehicle wear and tear, which poses long term maintenance costs and increased fuel consumption. Drivers should look beyond the distance of commute and instead consider the ‘delay per mile’ to ensure a more reliable, and cost-effective daily drive.”

Photo by Gawon Lee: https://www.pexels.com/photo/busy-london-street-with-cars-and-buses-32668260/