Drivers spent an average of 36% “extra travel time stuck in traffic” in 2019, compared to 33% in 2018, according to report put out by TomTom, a satellite navigation provider.

That figure jumped to 70% during the morning rush and 72% during evening peak hours. Luxembourg commuters spent 21 extra minutes per 30 minute trip in the morning and 22 extra minutes per 30 minute trip in the event. Over the course of year, Luxembourg drivers lost 163 hours (or 6 days, 19 hours), by TomTom’s reckoning. (The figure was 149 hours in 2018 and 156 hours in 2017.)

The paper said the worst traffic last year was recorded on Thursdays between 5pm and 6pm. “Travelling after 6pm on Thursday could save you up to 4 hours per year (for a 30 minute commute),” said the traffic information vendor.

The best day for bottlenecks was Wednesday 25 December (for obvious reasons), when traffic was only 1% more congested. The worst day recorded was Monday 11 November (a public holiday in France and Belgium, but not in the grand duchy), when traffic was 71% more congested.

Global comparisons

Luxembourg City ranked 53rd out of “416 cities in 57 countries” in the study, which was based on “anonymised” data captured from TomTom’s 600m users.

Congestion in the capital was roughly on par with Beijing and New York City (both 37% more travel time on average in 2019), San Francisco (36%) and Brighton and Hove (35%).

Globally the worst traffic congestion was recorded in Bengaluru in India and Manila (both 71%), Bogota (68%) and Mumbai (65%).

At the bottom of the tables were Abu Dhabi in the UAE, Almere in the Netherlands, Dayton, Syracuse and Akron in the US, and Cadiz in Spain (all 10%) and Greensboro-High Point in the US (9%).

This year’s “TomTom Traffic Index” was released on 29 January.