Birmingham named worst city for commuters

03 October 2008, 10:42am

ESRI (UK) Commuter Chaos survey reveals cost of congestion

Birmingham was yesterday named as the worst city in the country - for commuting.

Workers in the Midlands metropolis, famed for its traffic jams and Spaghetti Junction, spend just over an hour getting to work and back. More than a third of people surveyed in the city blame the sheer volume of traffic for their long commute, while another seven per cent say slow drivers hold them up.

Researchers discovered that Edinburgh was second in the hall of shame, with the average commute - taking a total of 55 minutes.

London - which boasts an extensive tube network - came third with the journey to work and back lasting 52 minutes.

Matt Lamey, business analyst at geographic technology company ESRI (UK), which carried out the poll of 3,000 people across the UK, said: ''Birmingham is a major transport hub in the UK, with three motorways connecting the city to the North-East, South-West and London.

''The research shows just how much of our working day is spent in our cars trying to get to and from work. For the people of Birmingham this equates to over five hours a week commuting - or most of one working day.

''With workers spending so many hours commuting it's critical to understand that journey times can be shortened or improved by choosing the right route and time of day to travel. Leaving five minutes earlier or later can make a huge difference as can waiting in an A-road traffic jam rather than trying to find an alternative B-road route, for example.

"Business is suffering as a result of the congestion problems we have in the UK with London employers losing staff time and therefore money to traffic congestion when delivering goods, for example.

“ESRI (UK) has a rich pedigree delivering best-in-class transport logistics technology to organisations throughout the UK. In our experience, simple digital maps or in-cab navigation systems are not sufficient to address the complex issues surrounding vehicle routing and scheduling. For this reason, we have developed RouteControl, providing the most complete picture of vehicle routing available in the UK to help organisations overcome these problems while reducing both their carbon footprint and their fuel bills."

Fourth in the poll is Oxford, where folk spend 51 minutes a day trying to get to work and back, while those in Portsmouth have to travel for 49 minutes.

But the study found that Plymouth is the place to work if you don't fancy a long journey with the average trip to work taking just 15 minutes - a total return trip of 30 minutes.

The Welsh city of Swansea came second with a daily commute taking 32 minutes, while Southampton workers spend 36 minutes of each day travelling to work and back.

Liverpool and Norwich completed the top five cities for a quick commute to work.

Researchers discovered that the average Brit faces a commute of almost 48 minutes every day.

That's a total of four hours a week or eight days of each year travelling to and from the office.

And the average worker has to travel just over nine miles to work - a round trip of 18.5 miles a day.

But 27 per cent of people say their commute to work has got worse over the past few years, with more than one in ten saying it is the most stressful part of the day.

Another nine per cent are left frustrated by their journey into work.

Matt Lamey, business analyst, ESRI (UK) said: ''As congestion in the UK continues to grow it’s essential that businesses have a way of tackling the routing of vehicles so traffic problems don’t impact on their bottom line. People’s commute to work illustrates a small part of a larger problem that needs to be addressed.”

Total time for commute per day (there and back in minutes)

1. Birmingham: 61

2. Edinburgh: 55

3. London: 52

4. Oxford: 51

5. Portsmouth: 49

6. Belfast: 49

7. Bristol: 48

8. Glasgow: 46

9. Aberdeen: 45

10. Cambridge: 45

Best places for commuting

1. Plymouth: 30

2. Swansea: 32

3. Southampton 36

4. Liverpool: 38

5. Norwich: 41

6. Newcastle: 41

7. Leicester: 41

8. Manchester: 42

9. Coventry: 43

10. Brighton and hove: 44

www.esriuk.com

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