Madrid, with 3,280,782 inhabitants, and Barcelona, with 1,636,193 inhabitants, are the Spanish cities with the highest number of inhabitants, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). They are also the cities that have the most registered vehicles and their roads contain significant traffic flows from their metropolitan areas and satellite cities, which exacerbates congestion problems in these urban areas.
Drivers who drive their car through the streets of Madrid and Barcelona daily usually experience long travel times and high levels of stress. Traffic delays are usually common, especially during rush hours, which requires spending more time than would otherwise be necessary.
However, Madrid and Barcelona are not the cities with the densest traffic in Spain. This is confirmed by the results of the 2023 Traffic Index obtained by TomTom. Like every year, the manufacturer of car navigation systems prepares the ranking of the cities with the worst traffic in the world. In this latest edition, which includes 387 cities from 55 countries, London (England) is the one that comes out worst, followed by Dublin (Ireland) and Toronto (Canada), while Barcelona (99th place) and Madrid (124th) They are even below other Spanish cities.
The work signed by the Dutch company consists of calculating the average travel time per kilometer with the data obtained by the navigators. The study also measures other parameters, such as the average speed during peak traffic hours and the time that drivers remain in their cars during phases of greatest circulatory collapse.
At the national level, Vitoria-Gasteiz is the city with the densest traffic. Drivers who travel daily through the capital of Álava spend 21 minutes traveling 10 kilometers, at an average speed of 27 km/h, and spend 48 hours a year in the car. Even so, Vitoria occupies 59th place in the general ranking, which includes 387 cities, among which 25 are Spanish.
Gijón and Alicante are the other two Spanish cities that complete the podium of the municipalities in Spain with the most congested traffic. Drivers who travel through the Asturian city spend 19 minutes and 50 seconds to travel 10 kilometers, while those who travel through Alicante need 19 minutes and 20 seconds to cover the same distance. The speed during rush hours is similar in both cities: 28 km/h in Gijón and 29 km/h in Alicante.
The TomTom study dismantles the cliché shared by many people who consider that Madrid and Barcelona are the Spanish cities with the most congested traffic. To find Barcelona you have to go down to 99th place in the general ranking. We find Madrid in 124th place in the world.
Barcelona, despite leading the list of European cities with the highest car density, 5,844 per km2, according to 2020 data published by Barcelona Metropolis of the Barcelona City Council, demonstrates that the volume of vehicles does not always correlate directly with congestion. of traffic. Its drivers spend 19 minutes traveling 10 kilometers - 10 seconds less than the previous year - and do so at a speed of 27 km/h. Barcelona residents spent 59 hours locked in their vehicles in 2023 during traffic jams.
The data recorded by TomTom indicates the day with the highest traffic congestion in Barcelona in 2023 was May 25. That day, it took motorists 25 minutes and 10 seconds to travel 10 kilometers by car.
In Madrid, a 10-kilometer journey by car is covered in 18 minutes at an average speed of 29 km/h and its drivers spend 51 hours a year in the car in episodes of greater traffic congestion. October 19 was the day of greatest traffic chaos last year in the Spanish capital, since it took 23 minutes and 40 seconds to travel 10 kilometers on an urban route.
Globally, London is the city with the most congested traffic in the world according to the TomTom study. In 2023, to travel a 10 kilometer journey, its drivers needed an average of 37 minutes and 20 seconds, one minute more than in 2022 and almost two more than in 2021. During peak hours the maximum speed is only 14 km/h. h.
Another capital of the United Kingdom, in this case Dublin (Ireland), is the second city with the worst traffic in the world, according to the 2023 Traffic Index. Its drivers spend an average of 29 minutes and 30 seconds to complete a 10-kilometer trip and they do it at an average speed of 16 km/h.
Third place belongs to Toronto. In this Canadian city, drivers spend an average of 29 minutes to travel 10 kilometers through its streets. The average speed is slightly higher than that reached in the two cities that precede it on the podium: 18 km/h.
