Londoners have the ninth worst commute in the world, according to a new study.
The UK capital was the only European city to appear in the bottom 10.
The study, conducted by B2B comparison site Expert Market, cross-referenced data from 74 key cities on the average time spent commuting, amount of time spent waiting for a bus or train, the average journey distance, the number of changes made in a single journey, amount of time spent in traffic and the cost of a monthly travel card relative to salary.
Rio De Janeiro was rated the worst city based on these calculations, with the most unbearable commute. Workers there spend over an hour and a half getting to and from work every day; commuters who drive into work spend 51 hours a year sitting in traffic.
London came ninth from bottom, with public transport in the Big Smoke costing commuters £132 per month on average. Those who travel by car in London don’t fare much better, spending 74 hours stuck in traffic per year.
Nice was ranked the best city to commute in. It has the lowest travel to earnings cost ratio of any city in the study, with a travel card costing just £26.56 per month, less than a quarter of what Londoners pay. Nice residents also enjoy one of the shortest commutes at 40 minutes per day.
France scored highly overall securing four spots in the top 10.
Leicester was ranked the best UK city for commuters, sliding into 10th position. Public transport users enjoy the most straightforward journeys, with only 32 per cent of passengers having to make more than one change in any single journey, the fourth best score for this factor in the study. Leicester also performed well for the availability and quality of public transport, coming in third, and for the length of time people spend waiting for a bus or train - just 12 minutes (sixth place).
Other major UK cities weren’t as successful, with Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle ranking in 58th, 53rd, 32nd and 26th place respectively.
Commuting can have a major impact on a person’s wellbeing. According to research collated for this year’s Time Out City Life Index, a shorter commute makes Londoners happier than sex.
10 best cities for commuters
- Nice
- Cuenca
- Bilbao
- Toulouse
- Catania
- Bari
- Lyon
- Bologna
- Strasbourg
- Leicester
10 worst cities for commuters
- Rio De Janeiro
- Bogota
- Sao Paulo
- Istanbul
- Salvador
- Toronto
- Brasilia
- Cali
- Miami
- London
