Feel like you’re always stuck in traffic?

Well spare a thought for commuters in the capital; a new report reveals Dubliners spend an average of eight days and 21 hours sitting in peak traffic every year.

That’s according to the TomTom Traffic Index, a report detailing the traffic situation in 416 cities in 57 countries around the world.

Dublin is the 17th most congested city in the world and wait times have actually increased by three percent this year, with Parnell Road / Grove Road, Dalymount / North Circular Road, Dorset Street Lower, Bothar Mhuirfean, Clanbrassil Street Upper, Drumcondra Road Upper, King Street North / Bolton Street, Church Street / Church Street Upper, Amiens Street and Harold’s Cross Road cited as the most congested in Ireland.

The congestion in Cork is 33%

Congestion has also risen here in Cork, though only by 1%. The congestion in Cork is now at 33%, ranking the city 75th in the world. However, there is good news on the horizon for motorists: traffic congestion is set to reduce when Cork’s northern ring road is finished in 2027.

In the meantime, Cork’s most congested roads are East Cork Parkway / R623, Kinsale Road, South Ring Road, Merchant’s Quay and Wilton Road / Sarsfield Road.

“In time, the rise of autonomous vehicles and car-sharing services will help alleviate congestion across the country, but planners and policymakers can’t afford to sit and wait in the meantime,” says Stephanie Leonard, Traffic Advisor at TomTom.

“They must use all the tools available to them to analyse traffic levels and impacts, so they can make critical infrastructural decisions.”

Bad news for Bengaluru

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 (71%); Bogota in Colombia (68%); last year’s most congested city, Mumbai (65%) and Pune, in India (59%); making up the top five most congested cities in the world.

Moscow takes the lead in Europe (59%) with Istanbul (55%) coming a close second. Kyiv (53%), Bucharest (52%), and Saint Petersburg (49%) make up the rest of the top five. Paris (39%), Rome (38%) and London (38%) ranked in at 14th, 15th and 17th respectively.

In the US, the top five most congested cities are Los Angeles (42%), New York (37%), San Francisco (36%), San Jose (33%) and Seattle (31%).