Traffic congestion is costing UK businesses approximately £767 million a year in lost productivity, according to research conducted by TomTom.

The TomTom Traffic Index has found traffic across the UK’s 25 most congested cities and towns increases the time each vehicle spends on the road by an average of 127 hours a year – more than 16 working days. This could equate to a cost of £767m in time spent sitting in traffic for the 902,500 light commercial vehicles operated in these cities and towns, says TomTom.

And, the situation seems to be getting worse. An average journey in 2015 took 29% longer than it would in free-flowing conditions, up from a 25% delay in 2010. 

“Traffic congestion may be seen as a fact of life for every driver but, cumulatively, it is taking a heavy toll on the UK economy and this should not be accepted as an inevitability,” said Beverley Wise, director UK and Ireland for TomTom Telematics.

“Making the most of billable time is key to profitability for any business, so organisations that rely heavily on a mobile workforce must look for ways to maximise the time employees spend actually doing jobs by minimising time spent on the road.

“Through smarter planning, routing and scheduling, companies can help their drivers to better avoid traffic, which could not only have an impact on productivity but also customer service. Previous research conducted by TomTom Telematics among UK van drivers found 90% admit to arriving late for customer appointments – with 93% citing traffic as the reason.”

The biggest financial hit was felt in London, where £237m is lost to traffic each year, followed by Manchester (£157m) and Birmingham (£81m).

Wise added: “Telematics solutions can help businesses mitigate the effect of traffic congestion and minimise time spent on the road. Firstly, drivers can be navigated along the fastest routes based on anticipated congestion spots and traffic information. But the data provided by telematics, including GPS location, ETAs and job status, can also be used to inform smarter planning where daily schedules are optimised to help ensure the most appropriate driver is sent to each job at the most appropriate time.”

Cost to business in UK’s 25 most congested cities and towns (to end of 2015)

Rank	City/town	Average congestion 2015 (2014)	Working days lost per vehicle per year	No. of goods vehicles registered in area	Cost to business
1	Belfast	40%   (39%)	24	9,700	£12,673,050
2	London	38%   (37%)	19	237,600	£237,196,080
3	Manchester	37%   (32%)	21	139,300	£157,729,390
4	Edinburgh	37%   (36%)	20	12,600	£13,338,360
5	Brighton	34%   (34%)	16	10,800	£9,334,440
6	Hull	33%   (31%)	19	13,400	£13,646,560
7	Bournemouth	32%   (31%)	17	8,800	£7,959,600
8	Newcastle	31%   (27%)	16	8,700	£7,519,410
9	Bristol	31%   (29%)	17	47,300	£43,733,580
10	Sheffield	30%   (26%)	16	23,600	£20,397,480
11	Leicester	29%   (26%)	17	17,900	£16,430,410
12	Liverpool	29%   (28%)	14	12,500	£9,212,500
13	Swansea	28%   (27%)	14	18,600	£14,206,680
14	Birmingham	27%   (24%)	15	101,200	£81,364,800
15	Leeds-Bradford	27%   (26%)	16	66,100	£55,358,750
16	Nottingham	27%   (29%)	15	10,300	£8,212,190
17	Glasgow	26%   (24%)	15	30,800	£25,175,920
18	Cardiff	26%   (25%)	14	12,100	£9,323,050
19	Coventry	25%   (23%)	15	60,000	£49,044,000
20	Southampton	24%   (24%)	15	12,200	£9,563,580
21	Reading	24%   (24%)	15	6,100	£4,904,400
22	Portsmouth	23%   (24%)	12	16,200	£10,528,380
23	Middlesbrough	21%   (22%)	11	4,300	£2,564,090
24	Stoke-on-Trent	20%   (20%)	13	15,400	£10,730,720
25	Preston	19%   (20%)	10	7,000	£3,845,800
UK AVERAGE		29%	16	902,500	£767,937,250