Dublin has been ranked in the unenviable position of 17th worst in the world for traffic congestion out of 416 cities – with 48% extra travel time to what journeys should take – according to the Tom Tom Traffic Index 2019.
In the index results, which were announced last Thursday, January 29, in Amsterdam, the location technology firm Tom Tom profiled the traffic situation in 416 cities across 57 countries.
Bengaluru takes the top spot this year with drivers in the southern Indian city expecting to spend an average of 71% extra travel time stuck in traffic.
Next in the global rankings are Philippine capital, Manila, on 71%; Bogota in Colombia on 68%; last year’s most congested city, Mumbai, on 65%; and Pune, also in India with 59%; making up the top five most congested cities in the world.
Dublin’s extra time of 48% is up 3% on its 2018 figure, according to Tom Tom, with an estimated 213 hours – equivalent to almost nine days – lost by Dublin commuters in traffic.
The index results come on the back of numerous concerns raised of rural depopulation, a shift in the number of people living in “highly rural/remote areas“, and long commute journeys from various quarters, including the President of Ireland, who previously noted the issue of rural depopulation as “the great challenge of our time”.