Toronto and Vancouver are among the 10 most congested cities in North America when it comes to car traffic, according to a new report from TomTom.
The TomTom Traffic Index 2017, released Tuesday, is an annual report that examined 390 cities across the globe. It ranked Mexico City as the region with the highest level of traffic congestion, followed by Bangkok and Jakarta. Toronto and Vancouver were among the 100 most congested cities globally.
Vancouver was ranked the fourth most congested North American city in 2016, whereas Toronto took the number eight spot. Both cities were found to be more congested in 2016 compared to the previous year (an increase of five per cent and two per cent, respectively).
The report also found traffic congestion was up 23 per cent globally since 2008.
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TRAFFIC JAM
Nick Cohn, a senior traffic expert with TomTom, told BNN the higher congestion levels could be attributed to job growth in these cities.
“The main theme across many of the countries, specifically western countries, is that there’s a clear link with employment and unemployment levels,” he said. “More people going to work means more people on the road.”
Cohn added that cities like Toronto and Vancouver, where the cost of living is fairly, high means there are more commuters from surrounding regions adding to congestion levels.
TomTom is a Dutch company that produces traffic, navigation and mapping products. The Index figures are based on speed measurements from TomTom’s historical traffic database, according to the company’s website.
NORTH AMERICA'S TOP 10
- Mexico City
- Los Angeles, Calif.
- San Francisco, Calif.
- Vancouver, B.C.
- New York, N.Y.
- Seattle, Wash.
- San Jose, Calif.
- Toronto, Ont.
- Miami, Fla.
- Portland. Ore.
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