Cycling the fastest way around UK's most congested cities, finds new report

Cycling is the quickest way of getting around some of the UK’s most congested cities, according to the latest annual Global Traffic Scorecard from traffic data experts Inrix – which, for the first time, includes metrics relating to travelling by bike or by public transport.

Several of the UK cities included in the global ranking such as London, Birmingham and Manchester, are in the midst of developing extensive cycle networks, including protected lanes for bikes as they aim to cut traffic congestion and improve air quality.

London, ranked the third most congested city globally last year, drops to eighth on the 2019 scorecard, with the capital’s motorists spending an average of 149 hours stuck in traffic jams during the year and an average last-mile speed of just 10 miles per hour.

Following it in the list of the 10 most congested UK cities, in ranking order, are Belfast, Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester, Cardiff, Birmingham, Southampton, Nottingham and Hull.

The fastest average last mile speed in the ten cities is Birmingham at 16mph, meaning for the vast majority of us - depending on the traffic lights and various other factors - cycling will be faster than driving in all of these cities.

The fastest last-mile speed is found in Birmingham, but even then, at 16 miles an hour it’s one that many regular cycle commuters would be able to exceed.

The West Midlands city recently unveiled plans to ban through traffic from crossing the city centre by dividing it into zones, similar to the approach taken by cities in the Netherlands elsewhere.

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London and Edinburgh – which has the highest levels of cycle commuting in Scotland and has unveiled a scheme to make its Georgian New Town safer for people on foot and on bike – are the only two cities where public transport is quicker than driving.

Among the other cities on the list, Nottingham, which has a workplace parking levy that has attracted interest from city authorities elsewhere in the country, saw a 17 per cent reduction in congestion.

Meanwhile, Manchester is the focal point of Transport for Greater Manchester’s Bee Network of cycling and walking network championed by Chris Boardman, while Cardiff recently introduced segregated cycle lanes close to its university.

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Trevor Reed, transportation analyst at Inrix, commented: “Congestion costs drivers, businesses and the UK economy billions of pounds each year. With the rising price of motoring, consumers are getting hit hardest.

“With the UK budget due soon, hopefully the Chancellor will take the opportunity to address this issue with continued investments in transport networks.”

Inrix, which says that traffic congestion costs the UK economy £6.9 billion annually, has recommended major improvements to public transport and rail networks as one solution to stop hours being wasted in traffic jams.

It has also said that making streets safer for people on bikes would help persuade many motorists to switch to cycling and thereby ease congestion.