HIGH-SPEED rail services between Spain's largest two cities and France have been snapped up by half a million passengers in less than nine months, reveals the transport board.
Spain suffers less congestion than most of Europe and the world
04/06/2019
NEXT time you're stuck in a traffic jam anywhere in Spain, count your blessings: none of the country's towns or cities are in the world's top 100 gridlocked locations, nor even in Europe's top 60.
In fact, the Spanish city with the longest traffic queues – Barcelona – is only 118th in the world out of 403 metropolitan areas in 57 countries and 61st in Europe.
Cádiz is the city with Europe's fewest traffic jams and, worldwide, is only beaten by Greensboro-High Point in the USA, which is at number 403.
According to the recently-released TomTom Traffic Index 2018, drivers in the central hub of Barcelona take an average of 29% more time to get to their destination than they would on an empty road or one where cars were flowing freely.
Surprisingly, Madrid is only joint fourth-most gridlocked city in Spain along with Santa Cruz de Tenerife, although this is perhaps less newsworthy when taking into account how acting mayoress Manuela Carmena has been working hard to reduce cars in the central 'almond' of the capital.
The TomTom Index figures were taken for the whole year, meaning the fact that only residents, residents' visitors, public transport, delivery vehicles, emissions-free vehicles and those merely seeking an underground parking space are allowed in the city has made little difference as the restrictions have not been in place long.
Next year's TomTom Index could have dramatically different results for Madrid.
Even before the restrictions, vehicles entering the city centre were partially controlled on different days in a bid to bring down air-pollution levels, although it would still take 22% longer to reach one's destination because of the traffic, the same as in Tenerife's largest metrofpolis.
Palma de Mallorca is the second-most congested city in Spain, with drivers having to allow 25% extra time, followed closely by Granada, slowing motorists down by 24% - although future annual indices for the latter may also see it drop down the rankings, since the opening of a high-speed AVE railway line on June 26 and plans to double its destinations within the next couple of years mean the once-isolated Alhambra Palace venue will gradually be able to rely much more heavily on public transport.
In the centre of the south-coast city of Cádiz, drivers only need to allow an extra 9% for their journey time than they would on an open road with the same speed limits.
Madrid, at present, is at number 134 in Europe and 228 in the world.
Traffic volumes have increased since 2017 in the majority of Spanish cities, albeit only by around 1% - with the exception of Alicante, Santander (Cantabria), Vigo (Galicia), Cartagena (Murcia) and Oviedo (Asturias), where vehicle numbers have not changed, and Granada and San Sebastián (Basque Country) having reduced their congestion by 1%.
For those who cannot avoid driving in Spain's most-congested cities, the TomTom Index gives advice on the best dates and times of day to get behind the wheel: in Barcelona, traffic increases by 60% during morning rush hour and 55% during evening rush hour, meaning a typical half-hour journey to and from work at either time would take an extra 18 and 17 minutes respectively.
Also, the highest level of congestion in Barcelona in 2018 was on Hallowe'en – not because the day after is a national holiday, but because a crane in the port caught fire after colliding with a ship, forcing traffic volume up by 67%.
Madrid's busiest traffic day was the day before Hallowe'en, and was indeed because of the bank holiday, with 46% more cars on the road than average.
Additionally, during Madrid's morning rush hour, traffic volume rises to 55% and, during evening rush hour, to 44%, meaning what would normally be a half-hour journey takes an extra 17 and 13 minutes respectively.
In Europe, out of the top 13 most gridlocked cities, four are in Russia, with Moscow being the worst, as drivers have to allow 56% extra time to reach their destination; Saint Petersburg at number four, with journeys taking 47% longer; Novosibirsk at number six, where travel times increase by 44%, and Yekaterinburg, where driving takes 37% longer.
Istanbul is the second-most congested city in Europe, involving 53% extra travel time, and Kiev (Ukraine) is fifth, with an additional 46% of time needed to get anywhere.
Bucharest (Romania) is the most gridlocked city in the EU and the third-busiest on the European continent, requiring 48% more driving time; Athens is the second-busiest EU city and the seventh-most congested in Europe itself (40% extra time needed); Rome, Italy and Warsaw, Poland are joint third in the EU and eighth in Europe (39% extra time), whilst the remainder of the top seven in the EU and top 13 in Europe are Brussels and London jointly (37% extra time needed) and Paris (36%).
The world's most-gridlocked city is Bombay – latterly known as Mumbai – on India's west coast, where journeys take 65% longer because of the traffic.
Colombia's capital, Bogotá is the second-worst with 63% extra time required, followed by the Peruvian capital, Lima and that of India, Delhi, together (58%), and Moscow.
Again worldwide, the TomTom Index reveals that congestion has increased or remained the same in 75% of the 403 cities, only reducing in 90 metropolitan areas.
Most of the reductions in traffic were seen in Asia, particularly in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, and the Euro-Asian border city of Istanbul, whilst nearly all cities studied in South America saw an increase, the greatest being in Lima where vehicle numbers have risen by 8%.
Previous studies on gridlock tended to find that some of the world's most traffic-heavy cities were Tokyo (Japan), Bangkok (Thailand), New York (USA), México DF, and São Paulo (Brazil).
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NEXT time you're stuck in a traffic jam anywhere in Spain, count your blessings: none of the country's towns or cities are in the world's top 100 gridlocked locations, nor even in Europe's top 60.
In fact, the Spanish city with the longest traffic queues – Barcelona – is only 118th in the world out of 403 metropolitan areas in 57 countries and 61st in Europe.
Cádiz is the city with Europe's fewest traffic jams and, worldwide, is only beaten by Greensboro-High Point in the USA, which is at number 403.
According to the recently-released TomTom Traffic Index 2018, drivers in the central hub of Barcelona take an average of 29% more time to get to their destination than they would on an empty road or one where cars were flowing freely.
Surprisingly, Madrid is only joint fourth-most gridlocked city in Spain along with Santa Cruz de Tenerife, although this is perhaps less newsworthy when taking into account how acting mayoress Manuela Carmena has been working hard to reduce cars in the central 'almond' of the capital.
The TomTom Index figures were taken for the whole year, meaning the fact that only residents, residents' visitors, public transport, delivery vehicles, emissions-free vehicles and those merely seeking an underground parking space are allowed in the city has made little difference as the restrictions have not been in place long.
Next year's TomTom Index could have dramatically different results for Madrid.
Even before the restrictions, vehicles entering the city centre were partially controlled on different days in a bid to bring down air-pollution levels, although it would still take 22% longer to reach one's destination because of the traffic, the same as in Tenerife's largest metrofpolis.
Palma de Mallorca is the second-most congested city in Spain, with drivers having to allow 25% extra time, followed closely by Granada, slowing motorists down by 24% - although future annual indices for the latter may also see it drop down the rankings, since the opening of a high-speed AVE railway line on June 26 and plans to double its destinations within the next couple of years mean the once-isolated Alhambra Palace venue will gradually be able to rely much more heavily on public transport.
In the centre of the south-coast city of Cádiz, drivers only need to allow an extra 9% for their journey time than they would on an open road with the same speed limits.
Madrid, at present, is at number 134 in Europe and 228 in the world.
Traffic volumes have increased since 2017 in the majority of Spanish cities, albeit only by around 1% - with the exception of Alicante, Santander (Cantabria), Vigo (Galicia), Cartagena (Murcia) and Oviedo (Asturias), where vehicle numbers have not changed, and Granada and San Sebastián (Basque Country) having reduced their congestion by 1%.
For those who cannot avoid driving in Spain's most-congested cities, the TomTom Index gives advice on the best dates and times of day to get behind the wheel: in Barcelona, traffic increases by 60% during morning rush hour and 55% during evening rush hour, meaning a typical half-hour journey to and from work at either time would take an extra 18 and 17 minutes respectively.
Also, the highest level of congestion in Barcelona in 2018 was on Hallowe'en – not because the day after is a national holiday, but because a crane in the port caught fire after colliding with a ship, forcing traffic volume up by 67%.
Madrid's busiest traffic day was the day before Hallowe'en, and was indeed because of the bank holiday, with 46% more cars on the road than average.
Additionally, during Madrid's morning rush hour, traffic volume rises to 55% and, during evening rush hour, to 44%, meaning what would normally be a half-hour journey takes an extra 17 and 13 minutes respectively.
In Europe, out of the top 13 most gridlocked cities, four are in Russia, with Moscow being the worst, as drivers have to allow 56% extra time to reach their destination; Saint Petersburg at number four, with journeys taking 47% longer; Novosibirsk at number six, where travel times increase by 44%, and Yekaterinburg, where driving takes 37% longer.
Istanbul is the second-most congested city in Europe, involving 53% extra travel time, and Kiev (Ukraine) is fifth, with an additional 46% of time needed to get anywhere.
Bucharest (Romania) is the most gridlocked city in the EU and the third-busiest on the European continent, requiring 48% more driving time; Athens is the second-busiest EU city and the seventh-most congested in Europe itself (40% extra time needed); Rome, Italy and Warsaw, Poland are joint third in the EU and eighth in Europe (39% extra time), whilst the remainder of the top seven in the EU and top 13 in Europe are Brussels and London jointly (37% extra time needed) and Paris (36%).
The world's most-gridlocked city is Bombay – latterly known as Mumbai – on India's west coast, where journeys take 65% longer because of the traffic.
Colombia's capital, Bogotá is the second-worst with 63% extra time required, followed by the Peruvian capital, Lima and that of India, Delhi, together (58%), and Moscow.
Again worldwide, the TomTom Index reveals that congestion has increased or remained the same in 75% of the 403 cities, only reducing in 90 metropolitan areas.
Most of the reductions in traffic were seen in Asia, particularly in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, and the Euro-Asian border city of Istanbul, whilst nearly all cities studied in South America saw an increase, the greatest being in Lima where vehicle numbers have risen by 8%.
Previous studies on gridlock tended to find that some of the world's most traffic-heavy cities were Tokyo (Japan), Bangkok (Thailand), New York (USA), México DF, and São Paulo (Brazil).
Related Topics
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