Dublin is the third-most congested city in Europe, and the 15th-most congested in the world, according to a newly-published survey.
Drivers were delayed by an average of 81 hours due to congestion in the city in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 13 per cent.
Dublin moves up one place to 15th in the global congestion rankings. Traffic delay times have risen in the city in each of the past three years.
In Galway, drivers were delayed by an average of 67 hours last year, the ninth highest level in Europe. This average is an improvement on 2023, however, when drivers lost an average of 72 hours in traffic in the city.
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Galway is the 56th most congested city in the world, according to the index.
The data was compiled by Inrix, a US-based transport data and analytics company. The survey considered traffic data from more than 900 cities across the globe. Cities were ranked based on the severity of congestion (ie, hours lost in traffic), relative to the size of the urban centre.
[ The Irish Times view on Dublin’s traffic plan: more progress needed in 2025Opens in new window ]
Istanbul is the most congested city in the world: drivers lost an average of 105 hours in traffic in the Turkish capital in 2024. Istanbul is followed by New York City, Chicago, Mexico City and London to make up the top five most congested cities.
London is the most congested city in Europe. Drivers there experience average delays of 101 hours. Paris is in second place at 97 hours.
Congestion is worsening across the globe: out of the 100 most-congested cities in the world, 69 saw a year-on-year increase last year.
Dublin’s city centre has seen significant changes to traffic flow in recent times. Last August, a ban on private cars and commercial vehicles travelling directly east or west along the Liffey at either side of O’Connell Bridge was introduced.
The restrictions were the first steps in the implementation of the Dublin City Centre Traffic Plan, published almost one year ago and designed to end the dominance of the private car on Dublin city’s streets by 2028.
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