Bucharest ranked eighth world’s most congested city in 2023

Bucharest was ranked eighth in the annual Traffic Index of the world's most congested cities, according to the GPS system manufacturer TomTom. In Europe, Romania’s capital was the fourth most congested city.

Compared to 2022, Bucharest is more congested, with the time required to cover a distance of 10 kilometers increasing by 20 seconds to 27 minutes and 40 seconds. The most congested day in 2023 was November 28 when it took 36 minutes and 50 seconds to cover 10 kilometers, according to the study, cited by HotNews.

Due to peak-hour congestion, Bucharest residents lost an extra 150 hours and paid nearly RON 1,000 extra for fuel.

During the week, the highest traffic congestion occurs on Wednesdays between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM when it takes an average of about 41 minutes to cover a distance of 10 kilometers in the Romanian capital.

The most congested cities in the world, according to the study, are London, Dublin, Toronto, Milan, Lima, Bengaluru, Pune, Bucharest, Manila, and Brussels.

London ranks first in the world in the TomTom ranking, having the most congested traffic with an average car travel speed of approximately 15 km/h. During peak hours, the highest congestion is in Dublin, with residents there losing about 153 extra hours in traffic due to congestion. 

The study is based on data collected from 600 million GPS devices and mobile phones worldwide. In 2023, the study examined 387 cities in 55 countries worldwide. 

The number of registered cars in Bucharest and Ilfov increased by over 560,000 in the period 2011-2022, approaching 1.8 million, according to data provided by the Bucharest Prefecture and the Directorate for Driving Licenses and Vehicle Registration. Strictly in Bucharest, the increase was nearly 30%. In the surrounding county of Ilfov, the increase is spectacular, with the number of registered cars nearly tripling.

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(Photo source: Vlad Ispas | Dreamstime.com)