Data on traffic jams in Russian cities was obtained using the Google Maps service. The rating is based on the principle of the ratio of the speed at which the driver could move on an open road to the actual speed.
Moscow turned out to be the busiest city in the country.
Despite the fact that, according to official data from the capital's authorities, the level of congestion, especially in the center of the capital, is decreasing from year to year, Moscow traffic jams are still unrivaled. The transport situation becomes especially difficult during heavy rainfall or on holidays, when hundreds of thousands of cars from neighboring regions come to the city.
Samara unexpectedly took second place in the Google ranking, which is barely among the top ten Russian megacities in terms of population. Krasnoyarsk took third place. It is obvious that both cities, in addition to objective transport problems associated with planning, most likely can boast of a very high, by Russian standards, level of motorization of the population.
Next on the list are Ufa and Voronezh, which are not included in the top 10 most populated cities in Russia, and only St. Petersburg is in 6th place. Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Perm and Nizhny Novgorod close the ranking.
At the request of Gazeta.Ru, the Google results were commented on in the Yandex.Traffic service.
“Yandex.Traffic specialists regularly analyze the traffic situation in Russian cities. Our approach involves identifying the characteristics of congestion on streets and highways, so we try to avoid direct comparisons and averaging of data,” said service analyst Leonid Mednikov. — Firstly, the average travel time on a relatively empty road and a busy one differs significantly, for example, on different days of the week and rush hours.
Secondly, the “traffic jam” of a city is influenced by many factors: traffic structure, the development of public transport, the availability of parking, the work of city services, the time of year and, of course, the weather.
Cities differ, as a rule, by different levels of congestion during the day: for example, somewhere the traffic jam score during the morning rush hour is higher, somewhere it starts earlier, and in another city it can last longer.
And the main thing that unites everyone is that the road situation greatly depends on the season and weather. The worst traffic jams usually occur due to rain or snow in winter and early spring, as well as on the eve of public holidays. The algorithms for calculating road congestion in all Yandex.Traffic cities are the same, but the point scale is designed differently - so as to correspond to the ideas of local motorists about what congested or free roads are. This means that the same score values in different cities may correspond to different degrees of difficulties.
For example, a situation in which you have to spend one and a half times more time on the road will be assessed at 7 points in Omsk, and only at 4 points in Yekaterinburg.
In the fall of 2013, we conducted an experiment and compared several Russian cities, recalculating their scores on a single (Moscow) scale. At the same time, it was not the average score as a whole that was compared, but the workload for a specific period (September - October) on weekdays.”
According to these data, Moscow turned out to be the most congested city, and the heaviest congestion was recorded from approximately 17.00 to 18.30. Yekaterinburg took second place in the Yandex ranking more than three years ago. Next came Novosibirsk. Samara took fourth place, but in the evening it was surpassed in terms of traffic jams by St. Petersburg. In addition, the top 9 most traffic-congested cities, according to Yandex, included Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Omsk and Kazan.
Traffic jams are probably one of the most unpleasant moments in driving practice. Every year, congestion becomes more widespread, forcing vehicle owners to stand for hours in endless road “queues”. Moreover, traffic jams are always relevant for all countries of the globe. Some of them even compete annually for the title of “the biggest traffic jam in the world.” And all because the number of car owners is constantly growing. And the rate of this growth is almost equal to the rate of production. The number of road junctions simply cannot cope with such an increase in technology. Plus, traffic accidents also contribute to everything. As a result, we have regular multi-kilometer traffic jams in megacities. Especially during rush hour. But it was not always so. So, we bring to your attention the most memorable cases of forced “downtime” in world practice.
Top 5 traffic jams by length
- The first major traffic jam occurred in Washington State in 1969. The reason for this was a rock festival called “Woodstock”, which was very popular at that time among young people, as well as middle-aged people. More than five hundred thousand car owners lined up in a 32-kilometer line on the way to the concert. Until this moment, no such cases of “stagnation” had been recorded.
- Next, 2005 distinguished itself. At that time, a severe storm warning was announced in the state of Texas. A powerful hurricane was approaching, and residents rushed to escape in a huge stream. And almost every one of them chose the forty-fifth highway for emergency evacuation. As a result, the road was not only marked by massive traffic accidents, but also became hostage to a 160-kilometer traffic jam.
Fleeing from a supposed natural disaster, people found themselves in another disaster - a road
- A traffic jam 175 kilometers long was recorded in the same twentieth century, but in France. Its appearance was facilitated by bad weather conditions and a huge flow of cars returning to the city after the weekend.
- And in 2008, the longest traffic jam in the history of driving was recorded in Sao Paulo. To this day, its length (which is as much as 292 kilometers!) is officially considered an absolute world record.
- 2010 and China were marked by the longest traffic jam. Beginning on August 14, it lasted for eleven whole days, driving many drivers to despair. After all, we had to sleep and eat right in the car. Savvy street vendors immediately took advantage of this by offering overpriced lunches.
Three of the most traffic-rich cities
But besides chronology, congestion can be classified according to a host of other distinctive features. traffic jams in different cities of the world. Maybe this information will prepare some car owners for their trips and tell them what to really expect in a particular place.
How much time are we wasting?
But in addition to this rating, sociologists also compiled another one - based on the number of hours spent in traffic jams per year. Manchester and its 72 hours hold the palm here. Next comes Paris with 70 hours. Next come Cologne and London with 57 and 54 hours respectively. And Moscow, which ranks second among cities with “problematic driving,” in such a study has only 40 hours of idle time per year. And this suggests that although the traffic jams are permanent, they dissolve quite quickly.
Research company INRIX, specializing in traffic information and driver services, amounted to world ranking of cities with the busiest roads based on the results of 2016. As part of the annual analytical study Global Traffic Scorecard, INRIX specialists studied the traffic situation in 1064 cities in 38 countries and, taking into account the average number of hours drivers spent in traffic jams per year, identified leaders and outsiders.
The methodology used by experts made it possible to assess the characteristics and scale of traffic jams at different times of the day in various parts of different countries. Experts analyzed traffic during peak hours and at normal times, traffic on country roads at exits and entrances to cities, as well as on city highways. The average time spent in traffic jams was calculated taking into account parameters such as, in particular, the size of cities and the duration of trips. Experts analyzed GPS data, as well as a number of events that directly affect traffic density. For example, road construction and closures, weather conditions, closures and various incidents. Note that the study was not conducted in China and Japan.
The most congested countries
Last year's leader, the United States, was moved from first place to fourth thanks to the addition of South American and Asian countries to the ranking. Thus, on average, American drivers spent more than an entire working week in traffic jams - 42 hours. The country with the busiest roads in the world is Thailand, where drivers lost 61 hours in peak traffic jams. Colombia is in second place (47 hours), and Indonesia is in third place (47 hours).
Russia shared fourth place with the United States - Russian drivers also sit in traffic jams on average 42 hours a year.
The UK came in 11th (32 hours) and Germany 12th (30 hours).
Slowest cities
Drivers spent an average of 104 hours stuck in traffic during rush hour traffic in Los Angeles last year. In second place was Moscow with 91 hours, and in third place was New York with a result of 89 hours. Next in the top ten worst cities in terms of traffic are San Francisco, the Colombian capital Bogota, Brazilian Sao Paulo, London, American Atlanta, Paris and Miami. It is noteworthy that in the top 25 cities in the INRIX rating, in addition to Moscow, two more Russian cities were included - Krasnodar (18th place) and St. Petersburg (22nd place). In 2016, each motorist spent an average of 56 and 53 hours in traffic jams in these cities, respectively.
At the same time, Muscovites are stuck in traffic jams for more than a quarter (25.2%) of the total time they spend behind the wheel, while for residents of Los Angeles this figure is lower - only 12.7%.
The report's authors noted that the road situation in Europe is generally much better than on other continents. Thus, of the 25 cities with the biggest traffic jams, 11 were American. At the same time, even more Russian cities are expected to be included in the European ranking - Moscow is followed in the top ten by London (73 hours), Paris (65 hours), Istanbul (59 hours), Krasnodar (56 hours), as well as Zurich, St. Petersburg, Sochi , Munich and Nizhny Novgorod, in which traffic jams account for about 50 hours per year.
Let us remind you that, according to data obtained using the Google.Maps service, Moscow expected to have the largest traffic jams at the end of last year. Samara unexpectedly took second place in the Google ranking, which is barely among the top ten Russian megacities in terms of population. Krasnoyarsk took third place. It is obvious that both cities, in addition to objective transport problems associated with planning, most likely can boast of a very high, by Russian standards, level of motorization of the population.
Next on the list are Ufa and Voronezh, which are not included in the top 10 most populated cities in Russia, and only St. Petersburg is in 6th place. Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Perm and Nizhny Novgorod close the ranking.
It is growing at such a pace that the infrastructure simply cannot keep up with it. This phenomenon was unknown to Russians until the mid-90s of the last century, but now traffic in megacities practically stops during rush hour. Let's look at ten cities where this problem is most acute.
10th place. Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, USA, closes the top ten busiest cities. Research shows that the average resident spends 41% more time traveling during rush hour than usual. Despite numerous road junctions, wide streets and developed infrastructure, the city is one of the most problematic in terms of traffic management in the world. This is due to the large number of personal vehicles. Thus, the number of cars is 1.8 million higher than the number of registered drivers. And a poorly organized public transport system only makes the situation worse.
9th place. Chengdu, China
Katai has long become a world leader in terms of growth rates in the automotive industry. This is facilitated by the development of industry, the growth of cities, an increase in transportation volumes, as well as an improvement in the well-being of citizens. The city of Chengdu already has a population of 14 million people and is projected to reach 20 million by 2017. There are more than three million officially registered vehicles in Chengdu and this number is constantly growing.
8th place. Recife, Brazil
On average, a car owner in Recife spends 94 hours a year driving in heavy traffic. According to most experts, the problem of traffic congestion worsened in 2014, during the World Cup. According to mayors, the main way to solve the problem of transport collapse is to tighten traffic rules and increase fines.
7th place. Salvador, Brazil
The next position in our ranking is also occupied by a Brazilian city, whose car owners spend 43% more time traveling during rush hour than usual. Moreover, approximately 18.7% of its residents spend more than one hour traveling from home to work. The main problem with this state of affairs is that this is an old city, its development and growth occurred spontaneously, without a developed urban plan. Moreover, El Salvador is located on hilly terrain, which, coupled with narrow streets, seriously complicates traffic.
6th place. Bucharest, Romania
This Romanian city is busier than the largest European capitals - including Paris. The avalanche-like growth in car traffic is due to a poorly organized public transport system, as well as the fact that all parking in the city is completely free. Research shows that charging just one Romanian leu, equal to $1.23, for parking would achieve a 56% reduction. We should not forget, however, that such measures without developing a system of intercept parking and increasing the accessibility and level of comfort in public transport have extremely low effectiveness.
5th place. Moscow, Russia
The city has 12 million officially registered residents, who own four million cars. In addition, one must take into account the fact that Moscow has become a center of attraction for residents of nearby regions who come to work every day. The situation with parking is also quite difficult - this leads to the fact that the total duration of the trip of 1.5 hours is considered normal. Neither increased fines nor forced evacuation help to avoid illegal parking; only the Moscow Ring Road and the Third Ring Road are partially freed from this phenomenon, which leads to a narrowing of the roadway. In addition, the growth in the number of shopping centers as close as possible to the city center significantly increases the intensity of the load on transport routes.
4th place. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The capital of this year's Summer Olympics turned out to be ill-prepared for the manifold increase in car traffic; even large-scale construction in the run-up to this event did not completely solve the problem. Studies have shown that on average, motorists in Rio de Janeiro lose 165 hours of idle time per year, which equates to a total economic loss of $43 billion.
3rd place. Istanbul, Türkiye
The difficult state of affairs in Istanbul is due to a whole range of reasons, the main of which is geographical - the city is located on two continents, and is connected by several bridges. This leads to a concentration of traffic at certain nodes and junctions. Moreover, the presence of a large number of offices and tourist attractions in the city center leads to a significant increase in passenger traffic. Chaotic traffic and massive disregard for traffic rules are the reason for the formation of five rows of vehicles on three-lane roads. The TomTom company from the Netherlands, specializing in the production of navigation systems, records the difficult road situation in this city on a quarterly basis. According to expert Nick Konfa, this state of affairs is due to the huge number of artificial structures on roads where traffic is limited.
2nd place. Bangkok, Thailand
The tourism capital of the world has been notorious for decades for its terrible traffic management, and five million registered cars inevitably lead to congestion. It is also worthy of attention that two-wheeled transport is very popular among Thais, so various types of mopeds, scooters and motorcycles completely stop traffic during rush hours. The average speed on the busiest street in Bangkok, Ayutthaya, does not exceed 8.95 kilometers per hour. The reason for such a rapid increase in the number of cars is the mitigation of taxation when purchasing a first car, which since 2012 has actively encouraged citizens to switch to personal vehicles.
1st place. Mexico City, Mexico
The leader of our rating, the busiest city in the world! The average motorist spends 219 hours a year in Mexico City traffic. And during rush hour, trip duration increases by 59%. The mayor of Mexico City, Miguel Angel Mancera, considers the main mechanisms to be the development of public transport, the creation of comfortable conditions for passengers and the optimization of routes. In this city, a car sharing system has long been actively practiced, when a car owner takes several travel companions for a nominal fee - it has proven its effectiveness and is being implemented throughout the country. Unfortunately, such measures are not particularly widespread in Russia due to the fact that, from the point of view of imperfect legislation, this is illegal import.
Thus, the main reasons for the formation of such a difficult road situation can be cited as the lack of a clear urban planning plan, poorly developed public transport, imperfect traffic rules and the slow development of related infrastructure. The negative experience of these ten cities should serve as a lesson for those settlements that are in the stage of intensive development.
I hate traffic jams! All the fun of a Friday evening is ruined by being stuck in traffic jams. The road to Dubna (100 km) sometimes takes seven hours, five of which I spend on the Moscow Ring Road. They say that a person spends 4 days in his LIFE listening to phone beeps, and some people are stuck in traffic jams for 4 days in a YEAR!
In Russia, of course, Muscovites get the most. We top the list of the worst traffic jams in the country. But we are luckier than the residents of Stuttgart or San Francisco. Where are the most hellish traffic jams on the planet, read under the cut...
No. 10. Brussels - 70 hours
Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the Brussels-Capital Region. Brussels houses the institutions of the French and Flemish Communities and Flanders, the headquarters of the European Union, the NATO office, and the secretariat of the Benelux countries.
No. 9. Cologne - 71 hours
Cologne is a million-plus city, the fourth most populous and third largest city in Germany, as well as one of the largest economic and cultural centers of the country. In addition, Cologne is the largest center of a 10-million-strong supra-glomeration of the Rhine-Ruhr region and the center of a 2-million-strong monocentric agglomeration. Cologne is one of the oldest cities in Germany, which has played a significant role in European history throughout its existence, dating back to the Roman era. Cologne is famous for its main temple - Cologne Cathedral, one of the main Catholic churches in Germany. The area of the city is 405 km2, the population is about 1 million people.
Cologne is the traffic jam capital of Germany. On average, people here spend about 71 hours a year stuck in traffic.
No. 8. Antwerp - 71 hours
Antwerp is the second most important city in Belgium. It is also a seaport, one of the twenty largest ports in the world and the second in Europe after the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The area of the city is 204 km2, the population is 510,610 people. On average, people here spend about 71 hours a year stuck in traffic.
No. 7. Stuttgart - 73 hours
Stuttgart is a city in Germany, one of the most important industrial centers in Germany, as well as an important cultural center. The area of the city is 207 km2, the population is about 613 thousand people.
Residents of Stuttgart spend an average of 73 hours in traffic jams each year.
No. 6. New York - 73 hours
New York is the largest city in the United States, part of one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world.
New York is the world's most important financial, political, economic and cultural center. The area of the city is 1214 km2, the population is about 8.4 million people.
New York never sleeps, so there are traffic jams here at any time of the day. New Yorkers spend an average of 73 hours in traffic jams each year.
No. 5. Houston - 74 hours
Houston is the fourth most populous city in the United States and the largest city in the state of Texas.
The city is a leading global center for the energy industry, and the city's economy also includes businesses in the fields of aeronautics, transportation and healthcare.
The area of the city is 1552 km2, the population is about 2.3 million people.
Traffic congestion in Houston occurs due to the large number of vehicles exceeding the maximum road capacity and the city's poor public transportation. During rush hours, all the main highways of the city are jammed with traffic jams. Houstonians spend an average of 74 hours stuck in traffic each year.
No. 4. San Francisco - 75 hours
San Francisco is a city and county in the state of California, USA, named after the Catholic saint Francis of Assisi.
San Francisco is famous for the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, the cable car system and Chinatown.
Traffic and congestion are a way of life in San Francisco. San Franciscans spend an average of 75 hours in traffic every year.
The area of the city is 121 km2, the population is about 850 thousand people.
No. 3. Washington - 75 hours
Washington is a city and the capital of the United States of America. The area of the city is 177 km2, the population is about 650 thousand people.
No. 2. Los Angeles - 81 hours
Los Angeles is a city in the United States in the south of California, located on the Pacific Ocean. The largest city in terms of population in the state and the second in the country, the City is the center of Greater Los Angeles, an agglomeration with a population of over 17 million people.
Los Angeles is one of the world's largest cultural, scientific, economic, educational centers, the world's largest centers of the entertainment industry in the field of cinema, music, television, and computer games.
The area of the city is 1302 km2, the population is about 3.8 million people.
Los Angeles is famous for its gigantic traffic jams. Los Angeles residents spend an average of 81 hours stuck in traffic each year.
No. 1. London - 101 hours
London is the capital and largest city of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The main political, economic and cultural center of Great Britain. The city's economy occupies a fifth of the country's economy. Refers to global cities of the highest rank, the world's leading financial centers.
The area of the city is 1706 km2, the population is more than 8.5 million people.
London is a very large metropolis and there are a lot of cars. London occupies an “honorable” first place in the ranking. Londoners spend an average of 101 hours stuck in traffic jams each year.
1. Moscow. Drivers in the Russian capital spend about 57 hours a year in traffic jams.
2. Ekaterinburg
3. Novosibirsk
4. Samara
5. Rostov-on-Don
6. St. Petersburg
7. Krasnodar
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