Us Londoners are used to a bit of traffic, in fact, according to the 2019 TomTom Traffic Index, not only is the capital the UK’s second most congested city, London is now officially the world’s 45th most congested city, topping the likes of New York, San Francisco and even Beijing!
But things have been a little different in the capital of late.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months, you’ll be well aware of the police-enforced lockdown that came into place on March 23, 2020; forcing shops, offices, schools, bars and restaurants across the country to close their doors indefinitely; and in turn, clearing UK roads of the usual congestion we Brits encounter on our daily commutes.
The streets of London have been so quiet in fact, that in many boroughs, wildlife not seen in decades has reclaimed many of the green spaces usually occupied by humans; in April a heard of fallow dear was spotted grazing in front of a housing estate in Harold Hill, East London!
So just how much has coronavirus affected road usage? Using the 2019 TomTom Traffic Index, and live TomTom traffic data, the team over at Vemco Consulting have put together a year-on-year comparison of average congestion levels and journey times in London, and some of the world’s other major cities, to find out just how the coronavirus pandemic and government-enforced lockdowns have affected global congestion levels.
Check out the interactive presentation below to see how COVID-19 has impacted congestion in London!
