London rush hour 'worst in UK'

ANALYSIS of in-car telematics data has revealed that London commuters get the worst deal in rush hour, with average speeds 30% slower than those across other British cities.

The study of 20 million miles of telematics data by Direct Line Drive Plus shows that despite London having more congestion-fighting measures than anywhere else in the country, its road-based commuters suffer worse peak time traffic misery than anywhere else.

During peak times, cars in Westminster travel at an average speed of just 10.06mph, compared to a figure of 14.38mph across the biggest British cities. The fastest commuters in Britain can be found in Peterborough, with an average rush hour speed of 19.25mph, followed by York at 17.64mph and Oxford at 17.19mph.

The analysis also revealed the locations where the rush hour has the biggest impact on traffic flow, by comparing speeds at peak and off peak times. Across Britain the typical rush hour slows traffic speed in urban centres by 3.6mph – an average delay of 5.95 minutes on a 30-minute commute, compared to the same journey during off peak hours.

However in Canterbury the rush hour adds 9.7 minutes to a 30-minute journey, in St Albans the delay is 8.9 minutes and in Worcester it’s 8.6 minutes.

At the other end of the scale are towns or cities where rush hour traffic flows are little slower than off peak speeds. In Swansea traffic speeds up by 2.0mph, in Edinburgh 2.03mph and Preston 2.13mph.

Direct Line's data even shows one city where rush hour traffic moves faster than the off-peak equivalent. Oxford traffic apparently speeds up by 0.44mph at the busiest times, but the firm qualifies this by citing the influence of a major trunk road within its study area.

By Press Association reporter