~ Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal remain in the top 10 most congested cities ~
LAS VEGAS — (BUSINESS WIRE) — January 8, 2013 — TomTom today announced the results of its latest Congestion Index, which measures traffic congestion in North American cities between July and September 2012. The third Congestion Index examines the congestion in 57 metropolitan areas with a population of more than 950,000, and found Vancouver to be the most congested city in Canada for a third time in a row. On average, journey times in Vancouver are 34 per cent longer than when traffic in the city is flowing freely and 69 per cent longer during evening rush hour. Toronto (6) and Montreal (9) also reached the top 10. TomTom’s Congestion 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 19 per cent.
Other notable changes in this edition of the Congestion Index found that the top five most congested cities lie in the west with Los Angeles (1), Vancouver (2), San Francisco (3), Honolulu (4) and Seattle (5) topping the list.
The top ten most congested North American cities, ranked by overall Congestion Level, between July and September 2012 were:
1. Los Angeles (34 %)
2. Vancouver (34%)
3. San Francisco (33%)
4. Honolulu (31%)
5. Seattle (27%)
6. Toronto (26%)
7. New Orleans (25%)
8. San Jose (25%)
9. Montreal (24%)
10. Chicago (24%)
“With access to trillions of historical data points and more than 50 million anonymous, real-time data sources, we can effectively determine the key bottlenecks and pain points for drivers,” said Ralf-Peter Schäfer, Head of Traffic at TomTom. “By sharing this information, and educating both individuals and governments on the realities on their roads, we hope to reduce traffic congestion overall.”
Notes to Editor
About the TomTom Congestion Index
The methodology used in
the Congestion Index compares travel times during non-congested periods
(free flow) with travel times in peak hours. The difference is expressed
as a percentage increase in travel time. The Index takes into account
local roads, arterials, as well as highways. All data is based on actual
GPS based measurements.
As well as assigning and ranking the overall congestion levels of 60 North American cities, the report analyses the congestion levels in cities at different times of the day and on different days of the week. TomTom analyzed capital cities as well as cities with a population of over 950,000.
Individual city reports include more detailed information such as the most congested day, time delay per year for commuters and congestion levels on main and secondary roads.
To download the North American Congestion Index, go to www.tomtom.com/congestionindex
Contact:
TomTom
Lea Armstrong, 978-405-1840
