TomTom Research Finds Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal Most Congested Cities in Canada

TomTom today announces the results of its 2012 Congestion Index, which measures traffic congestion in 161 cities across five continents and compares it to congestion levels in 2011. The annual Congestion Index also examines the congestion in 59 metropolitan areas with a population of more than 800,000 across North America, and found Vancouver continued to be the most congested city in Canada.

On average, journey times in Vancouver are 33 per cent longer than when traffic in the city is flowing freely and 68 per cent longer during evening rush hour. Although ranked 10th overall, Montreal’s evening peak is the third worst across North America, with an average 71 per cent longer commute than when traffic in the city is flowing free. The complete 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 more than six trillion data measurements and is growing by five billion measurements every day. The average congestion level for all the North American cities analyzed between July and September 2012 is 18 per cent.

The 10 most congested North American cities, ranked by overall Congestion Level, in 2012 were:

1. Los Angeles (33%)

2. Vancouver (32%)

3. Honolulu (30%)

4. San Francisco (29%)

5. Seattle (26% 

6. Toronto (25%)

7. San Jose (25%)

8. Washington (25%)

9. New Orleans (25%)

10. Montreal (25%)

“TomTom’s Annual Congestion Index provides accurate insight into the world’s most congested cities,” said Ralf-Peter Schäfer, head of traffic at TomTom. “This detailed knowledge of the entire road network, helps businesses and governments make more informed decisions about how best to tackle and avoid congestion. TomTom’s world-class traffic information also helps drivers get to their destinations faster. Significantly, when used on a large scale, TomTom Traffic has the potential to ease congestion in cities and urban areas by routing drivers away from congested areas.”