Ranking shows French cities with the most, and fewest, traffic jams
Surprisingly, Paris did not rank highest
Bordeaux was the most congested city in France overall, the ranking showed, at a level of 33%, and a travel time of 31m8s for a 10 km journeytrabantos/Shutterstock
A new ranking has revealed which cities in France have the most, and fewest, traffic jams - and perhaps surprisingly, Paris is not the busiest.
Geolocalisation and GPS company TomTom published its 14th annual Traffic Index ranking of the road circulation of 500 cities across 62 countries worldwide for the year 2024.
Ranking methodology: Emphasis on time taken to travel 10 km
The ranking shows a number of metrics, and uses them to calculate:
A congestion level (shown as a percentage of roads) in the city centre.
The number of hours lost due to rush hour congestion over the past year (for a 10 km journey done twice a day at rush hour) in the city centre.
The average time it takes to travel 10 km in the given city centre.
Each of these metrics is reviewed and contributes to the final ranking, although TomTom appears to place most emphasis on the average time it takes to travel 10 km.
Most congested cities in France
The most congested cities in EuropeTraffic Index 2024 / TomTom.com / Screenshot
In France, the ranking showed:
Bordeaux took the top spot for the most congestion, at 33% overall, 113 hours lost at rush hour, and a travel time of 31 minutes and eight seconds for a 10 km journey. It was the 24th most-congested city in the global ranking.
Paris came next (30% congestion, 101 hours lost, 28 minutes and 53 seconds for 10 km trip 213th overall)
Marseille was third (31% congestion, 93 hours lost, 27 minutes and 14 seconds per 10 km trip, 195th overall)
Nice was in fourth (29%, 84 hours lost, 25 minutes and 29 seconds per 10 km, 237th overall)
Nantes came in fifth (32%, 96 hours lost, 25 minutes and six seconds per 10 km, 174th overall).
The cities of Lyon, Le Havre, Nancy, Rouen, and Orléans came next respectively in France’s top 10 (by number of hours lost at rush hour), while Brest, Avignon, Reims, Lille, and Strasbourg rounded out the top 15.
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The ranking also showed that while congestion in Bordeaux had not changed in the past year (no additional time was incurred with an average journey), time for an average trip in Paris had increased by 20 seconds, Marseille by 30 seconds, and Nice by 40 seconds. Nantes had increased by 10 seconds.
Paris ranked seventh place overall (and highest in France) for congestion by ‘megacity’ (more than eight million residents), while Lyon came in top (13th place) among ‘large cities’ (800,000 or more residents). Among ‘small cities’ (under 800,000 residents), Nice came top in France.
The least congested cities in EuropeTraffic Index 2024 / TomTom.com / Screenshot
The five least congested cities in France were:
Lens, at 17% overall congestion, 23 hours lost at rush hour, and a travel time of 11 minutes and 55 seconds for a 10 km journey. It was the 447th most-congested city in the global ranking of 500
Bayonne, at 29% congestion, 43 hours lost, and a travel time of 13 minutes and 21 seconds for a 10 km journey. It was the 241st most-congested city worldwide
Rennes, at 29% congestion, 57 hours lost, and a travel time of 13 minutes and 34 seconds for a 10 km journey. It was the 228th most-congested city worldwide
Tours, at 23% congestion, 40 hours lost, and a travel time of 14 minutes and 42 seconds for a 10 km journey. It was the 372nd most-congested city worldwide
Saint-Etienne, at 24% congestion, 39 hours lost, and a travel time of 14 minutes and 48 seconds for a 10 km journey. It was the 343rd most-congested city worldwide.
Europe and the Rest of the World
In Europe, the ranking showed that London had the longest journey time per 10 km, at 33 minutes and 17 seconds. It had a congestion level of 32%, lost 113 hours at rush hour, and had increased journey times by 40 seconds over the past year. It was ranked 150th in the world.
Worldwide, the ranking showed:
Mexico City, Mexico, as the most congested city worldwide overall, with a level of 52%, 152 hours lost at rush hour, and an average journey time of 31 minutes and 53 seconds per 10 km.
Barranquilla, Colombia, had the longest journey time per 10 km, at 36 minutes and six seconds.
Lima, Peru, lost the most hours in rush hour, at 155 hours
Thessaloniki, Greece, saw the greatest increase in its average travel time per 10 km over the past year, at two minutes and 20 seconds more.
Commenting on the ranking, TomTom said: “Whether you're a driver, pedestrian, city planner, car and policymaker, the index can help you tackle everyday traffic challenges.”
Its methodology includes using ‘floating car data (FCD)’ that it collects from various sources, using a representative sample from data across 737 billion km of roads.
It said that the travel time per journey can be affected by a number of factors, including road infrastructure, street categories, road sizes and capacities, and speed limits; as well as changing elements such as congestion, roadworks, and bad weather.
TomTom defines city centres as “the densest areas that capture 20% of all trips within the city-connected area”, and metropolitan areas “encompass the trip-dense regions that account for 80% of all trips within the city-connected areas”.
The full list also shows rankings for ‘metro areas’ as well as city centres.
