We probably all think that the city we live in is the worst city in the world for driving, but you may be surprised to hear that there’s no city in the United States on CNNGo‘s top 10 list of worst cities for driving.
The data was gathered through surveying IBM’s 2011 Commuter Pain survey, World Bank statistics, and other Internet sources for this non-scientific list.
Starting off the list at number-10 is Monaco, out on the French Riviera in Western Europe. With a total area of 0.76-sq mi and a population of around 36,000, Monaco is the second smallest country in the world and is the most densely populated country in the world. The combination of the two make it no surprise that it’s one of the top 10 worst cities in the world for driving, especially when rush hour looks like a Mercedes parade.
According to World Bank statistics, Monaco has more cars per capita than even the United States.
While the U.S. was spared from making the list, Canada wasn’t so lucky. At number-9 is Toronto, the largest city in the country. With over 2.6 million residents, Toronto is the fifth most populous city in North America and last year was ranked the highest in Canada for cost of living. Even more surprising is that Toronto is the fourth most congested area in North America – even ahead of New York in terms of traffic. Part of the issue is that 70-percent of its residents commute back and forth to work each day with their personal vehicle.
“Our 80-minute-average round-trip journey to work merits us a ‘D’ and even lags behind the legendary Los Angeles by 24 minutes,” said Carol Wilding, president and CEO of Toronto Board of Trade.
Residents of Moscow, Russia have gone on the record to say that their average traffic delays are three or more hours long. Thought your commute in traffic was bad? Combine that with what Mother Nature has to offer Russia and you’ve got a ‘perfect storm’ brewing. Summer smoke storms undoubtedly affect traffic even more, and we can’t even imagine what it’s like when it snows.
Sao Paolo, Brazil is the largest metropolitan area in the Southern hemisphere – so we’re actually surprised it’s not higher up on the list. There’s 20 million residents or so in the city, and is the most populous of all the Americas. But truth of the matter is, Brazil breeds some of the world’s top race car drivers – there’s probably a reason for that. It’s worth mentioning that Sao Paolo has no ring roads, so residents are forced to navigate the city with local streets.
The World Bank once gave Lagos $150 million to build new roads. What did the country do instead? They bought buses. So now it’s full of poor roads packed with too many cars and even the local residents are referring to peak-hour driving as “go slow.” At least someone is finding a bright side to this; Governor Babatunde Fashola called the daily gridlock a “blessing” and a sign of “economic prosperity” back in 2010. Sure thing.
What nails Johannesburg down as the fifth-worst city for driving? Apparently more than two-thirds of its drivers commute each day to work alone. Since carpooling is clearly not inspired in South Africa, Johannesburg earns itself a spot no the list. The traffic there is so bad, that one South Africa netizen came up with an anti-road-rage driving game that rewards you for staying calm, and deducts points for bad behavior. How clever.
In the last 40 years, Mexico City’s population has quadruple. Yet, the roads have mostly been kept the same. So how bad is it out in Mexico City? IBM reports that it managed to score 13 percent higher than the second-place-holder in terms of frustration, anger, annoyance, and overall driver misery. Ouch. At least there’s decent public transportation in the form of a subway system for the residents and tourists.
Out in the Philippines, Manila finds itself on the list as one of the top worst cities for driving. In fact, residents perceive traffic congestion as their number one problem – above respiratory ailments, piles of trash, drowning, and even being assaulted. Yikes! Back in 2001, Manila had borrowed $60 million from the World Bank for “transit-related” activities. The city utilized the funds to help promote the use of non-motorized transport, but much of the campaign revolved around asking residents to please stop driving. At least they said please.
So how bad is driving out in New Delhi, India? It may not be about the traffic, but rather that India has the highest number of annual road-related deaths out of any country. That makes rush hour in New Delhi not only stressful, but dangerous. Of course we can look at it the other way, where knowing that it’s dangerous makes it stressful. Either way, you might not want to be caught behind the wheel in New Delhi anytime soon.
Topping the list is Beijing, China, with no real surprise. Even though it only scored third on the 2011 Commuter Pain index, its infamous 12-day, 60-mile traffic jam awards it the top honors of worst cities for driving. Just the fact that a city can have a traffic jam that defies logic deserves a prize. There isn’t really a bright side to it either, considering Beijing is only continuing to grow at a rapid pace and traffic is only expected to get worse.