London the Slowest and 2nd Most Expensive City to Drive in - TomTom's Traffic Index

London (city centre) has emerged as the slowest city in the world to drive in. On average, Londoners needed more than 35 minutes to drive 6 miles (11 mph). During peak hours, the average speed in London’s city centre was only 9 mph. 

Bengalaru is the second slowest city, followed by Dublin, Sapporo and Milan.

London is also ranked as the second most expensive city in the world to drive in, beaten only by Hong Kong. 

On average in British cities, driving costs soared 27% for a diesel car and 22% for a petrol vehicle in 2022.

The findings are reported by TomTom, the geolocation technology specialist. They are contained in the 12th edition of its annual TomTom Traffic Index, a report detailing traffic trends seen in 389 cities, in 56 countries throughout 2022.

The cost of driving of an electric vehicle (EV) charged in fast charge points in the English capital is among the highest in the world.

To drive 10.000 miles in 2022, Londoners spent £2055, compared to £1969 in Paris, £1888 in Brussels, £1794 in Berlin or £1220 in New York. 

TomTom sources its traffic flow data from over 600 million devices, such as in-dash car navigation, smartphones, personal navigation devices and telematics systems.

“With inflation spiking around the globe and the ongoing climate crisis, we looked at the economic impact of the return to higher traffic levels,” says Andy Marchant, Traffic Expert at TomTom. “Interestingly, despite the rising costs of driving globally, it continues to be a major mode of transport in most cities.” 

“If we want a future with cleaner air, we need to reduce the barriers to people choosing EVs,” adds Marchant.

“While home charging is a much cheaper alternative than using a public rapid charger, reliable, convenient and cost-effective public charging infrastructure is essential to remove the psychological obstacle of range anxiety that prevents widespread EV adoption. Encouragingly, the government has announced new plans to unlock the potential of smart public EV charging, which would help drivers to save hundreds of pounds each year while cutting emissions. If this strategy is effective, it will be an important milestone in our journey towards more sustainable transport.” 

Each day, TomTom collects over 61 billion anonymous GPS data points around the world, covering a total distance of 3.5 billion kilometres driven.