- INRIX Roadway Analytics, a new traffic analysis tool, identifies and ranks the impact of more than 45,000 traffic hotspots1 in 123 cities2 in 19 countries across Europe
- In Germany, the worst traffic hotspots in 27 cities were identified and the cost to drivers of time wasted in congestion3 could amount to €47.6 billion over the next ten years3
- Hamburg had more traffic hotspots than any other German city analysed, and time wasted in congestion at these locations could cost drivers in the city €7.7 billion by 2025
- The A7 N at J29 HH-Othmarschen in Hamburg is Europe’s worst traffic hotspot and time wasted in gridlock here could cost drivers €1.3 billion over the next decade
Munich – November 30, 2016 – INRIX today published research on Europe’s worst traffic hotspots. Using INRIX Roadway Analytics, a new traffic analysis tool and the first of its kind to be available in Europe, INRIX analysed more than 200,000 traffic jams to identify and rank 45,662 traffic hotspots in 123 major cities in 19 European countries. INRIX also calculated the cost of congestion across all traffic hotspots to identify the price drivers in Europe are estimated to pay over the next ten years due to time wasted sitting in gridlock.
In Germany, INRIX Roadway Analytics identified and ranked 8,517 traffic hotspots in 27 cities. The ranking was determined by an ‘Impact Factor’4, which multiplied the average duration of a traffic jam with its average length and the number of times it occurred in September 20165. The economic cost to drivers in Germany as a result of time wasted at these traffic hotspots could amount to €47.6 billion over the next ten years if congestion levels are not reduced.
Hamburg had more traffic hotspots and also the highest Impact Factor compared to all cities analysed in Germany. The impact of hotspots in Hamburg was almost 40 percent more than the second ranked city, Munich. This also means Hamburg pays the highest price with time wasted in congestion potentially costing drivers €7.7 billion by 2025. High traffic levels in Hamburg can be explained in part by the fact that it is Germany’s second largest city and one of the most densely populated. It is also a major transportation hub as Europe’s second largest port.
“Only by identifying traffic hotspots and analysing their root causes can we effectively combat gridlock,” said Graham Cookson, Chief Economist, INRIX. “Some of the most effective traffic improvement measures have benefited from this approach. One example is the successful investment in the Luise-Kiesselbach-Platz tunnel on the “Mittlerer Ring” in Munich, Germany’s most congested road. Using INRIX Roadway Analytics, we saw average peak hour speeds increase by 10 km/h when the tunnel opened in July 2015, which is a rise of 31 percent.”
Table 1: INRIX Roadway Analytics Impact Factor Ranking – German Cities
| Rank | German City (population over 250k) | No. of Traffic Hotspots | Impact Factor
|
2025 Economic Cost of Congestion | Worst Traffic Hotspot |
| 1 | Hamburg | 1,305 | 1,264,783 | €7.7bn | A7 N at J29 HH-Othmarschen |
| 2 | Munich | 841 | 917,570 | €5.6bn | B2R N (Mittlerer Ring) in Englischer Garten |
| 3 | Stuttgart | 539 | 850,815 | €5.2bn | A8 W at J48 (B295) Leonberg-West |
| 4 | Cologne | 740 | 816,260 | €5.0bn | A3 N at J25 (Koln-Mulheim) |
| 5 | Berlin | 1,070 | 502,580 | €3.1bn | A100 N between J6 and J5 |
| 6 | Frankfurt | 448 | 471,315 | €2.9bn | A3 E after J53 (Oberthausen) |
| 7 | Hanover | 290 | 378,308 | €2.3bn | A2 W between J46 (Hannover Lahe) and J47 (Hannover-Buchholz) |
| 8 | Duisburg | 213 | 308,973 | €1.9bn | A3 N after J12 (Kreuz Oberhausen-West) |
| 9 | Karlsruhe | 120 | 255,858 | €1.6bn | A5 (S) at J43 (Karlsruhe Nord) |
| 10 | Dusseldorf | 373 | 219,346 | €1.3bn | B8 S at Junction with B1 and B7 |
| 11 | Dortmund | 247 | 202,121 | €1.2bn | A44 E at J53 (B233) |
| 12 | Bochum | 121 | 180,969 | €1.1bn | A43 N after J12 (for A2 J8) |
| 13 | Dresden | 287 | 169,726 | €1.0bn | A4 E between J79 (Dresden Neustadt) and J80 (Dresden Wilder Mann) |
| 14 | Essen | 238 | 164,446 | €1.0bn | A40 W between J26 (L191) and J27 (L643) |
| 15 | Nuremberg | 229 | 158,893 | €972m | A6 S before J92A (B299) |
| 16 | Braunschweig | 138 | 147,313 | €902m | A2 E after J58 (Kreuz-Wolfsburg) |
| 17 | Wuppertal | 102 | 146,340 | €896m | A46 W between J33(L429) and J34 (L70) |
| 18 | Bremen | 133 | 144,616 | €885m | A1 N after J57 (Bremen-Brinkum) |
| 19 | Mannheim | 90 | 73,324 | €449m | A656 N before J4 (L597) |
| 20 | Mönchengladbach | 138 | 69,894 | €428m | A52 W between J7 and J8 |
| 21 | Wiesbaden | 94 | 66,091 | €404m | A3 N around Medenbach |
| 22 | Bielefeld | 134 | 60,106 | €368m | B61 S (Ostwestfalendamm) Junction with A33 J19 |
| 23 | Gelsenkirchen | 73 | 54,694 | €335m | B224 S at Stadion Gladbeck |
| 24 | Bonn | 117 | 50,821 | €311m | A555 at J8 with Potsdamer Platz |
| 25 | Leipzig | 223 | 43,029 | €263m | B2 S Junction with Berliner Strase |
| 26 | Munster | 142 | 42,690 | €261m | A1 N after K10 (Davert) |
| 27 | Augsburg | 72 | 16,953 | €104m | B17 S where becomes B300 |
| Total Cost: | €47.6bn |
The worst traffic hotspot in Germany, and of all cities analysed in Europe, is the A7 N at J29 HH-Othmarschen in Hamburg, which could cost drivers €1.3 billion over the next decade if congestion here is not reduced. The A8 W at J48 (B295) Leonberg-West in Stuttgart is a close second in the ranking. The cost of congestion at both of these traffic hotspots is more than double that of the third road in the ranking, the A3 N at J25 (Koln-Mulheim) in Cologne.
Table 2: INRIX Roadway Analytics Top 10 Traffic Hotspots in Germany
| Rank | German City (population over 250k) | Worst Traffic Hotspot | Ave. Duration (min) | Ave. Length (miles) | Total no. of Occurrences | 2025 Economic Cost of Congestion
|
| 1 | Hamburg | A7 N at J29 HH-Othmarschen | 94 | 8.7 | 257 | €1.3bn |
| 2 | Stuttgart | A8 W at J48 (B295) Leonberg-West | 24 | 10.93 | 790 | €1.3bn |
| 3 | Cologne | A3 N at J25 (Koln-Mulheim) | 56 | 6.89 | 264 | €623m |
| 4 | Karlsruhe | A5 (S) at J43 (Karlsruhe Nord) | 92 | 5.75 | 178 | €576m |
| 5 | Hanover | A2 W between J46 (Hannover Lahe) and J47 (Hannover-Buchholz) | 44 | 8.68 | 212 | €496m |
| 6 | Braunschweig | A2 E after J58 (Kreuz-Wolfsburg) | 194 | 11.8 | 33 | €462m |
| 7 | Stuttgart | A8 W at J47 (Rutesheim) | 46 | 18.64 | 87 | €456m |
| 8 | Bremen | A1 N after J57 (Bremen-Brinkum) | 173 | 6.96 | 59 | €435m |
| 9 | Munich | B2R N (Mittlerer Ring) in Englischer Garten | 314 | 3.11 | 63 | €377m |
| 10 | Frankfurt | A3 E | 28 | 6.77 | 321 | €372m |
How Germany Compares with Europe
Munich, Stuttgart and Cologne also feature in the top ten European city ranking alongside Hamburg. The economic cost of time wasted in gridlock in these cities range from €5 billion in Cologne to €5.2 billion in Stuttgart to €5.6 billion in Munich. This compares to €47.7 billion in London, which by far has the highest impact of hotspots in the study and also has the largest population. However, all cities in the top ten have a proportionally high Impact Factor, and the cost to drivers in other European cities range from €3.8 billion in Milan to €9.6 billion in Rome.
Table 3: INRIX Roadway Analytics Impact Factor Ranking – Europe Cities
| Rank | European City (population over 250k) | Country | Number of Traffic Hotspots | Impact Factor
|
2025 Economic Cost of Congestion |
| 1 | London | UK | 12,776 | 7,782,677 | €47.6bn |
| 2 | Rome | Italy | 1,684 | 1,566,115 | €9.6bn |
| 3 | Paris | France | 703 | 1,479,535 | €9.1bn |
| 4 | Hamburg | Germany | 1,305 | 1,264,783 | €7.7bn |
| 5 | Madrid | Spain | 837 | 1,017,770 | €6.2bn |
| 6 | Antwerp | Belgium | 459 | 970,351 | €5.9bn |
| 7 | Munich | Germany | 841 | 917,570 | €5.6bn |
| 8 | Stuttgart | Germany | 539 | 850,815 | €5.2bn |
| 9 | Cologne | Germany | 740 | 816,260 | €5.0bn |
| 10 | Milan | Italy | 1,053 | 618,657 | €3.8bn |
The Autobahns on the outskirts of Hamburg and Stuttgart are at the top of the worst traffic hotspots in Europe ranking, with these two individual hotspots on the A7 and A8 potentially costing drivers €2.6 billion over the next ten years through time wasted in congestion. 40 percent of the top ten worst hotspots in Europe are in Germany, with roads in Cologne and Karlsruhe also featuring alongside roads in Antwerp, Luxembourg City and Paris.
Table 4: INRIX Roadway Analytics Top 10 Traffic Hotspots in Europe
| Rank | European City (population over 250k) | Country | Worst Traffic Hotspot | 2025 Economic Cost of Congestion |
| 1 | Hamburg | Germany | A7 N at J29 HH-Othmarschen | €1.3bn |
| 2 | Stuttgart | Germany | A8 W at J48 (B295) Leonberg-West | €1.3bn |
| 3 | Antwerp | Belgium | R1 / E19 E and E34 E at J3 (Borgerhout) | €1.1bn |
| 4 | London | UK | M25 N between J15 (M4) and J16 (M40) | €801m |
| 5 | London | UK | M25 N between J16 (M40) and J17 (Rickmansworth) | €652m |
| 6 | Cologne | Germany | A3 N at J25 (Koln-Mulheim) | €623m |
| 7 | Antwerp | Belgium | R1 (E34) E after J3 (Borgerhout) | €619m |
| 8 | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | A6 W before J4 (Strassen) | € 618m |
| 9 | Paris | France | A1 S N at Junction with Boulevard Périphérique | €611m |
| 10 | Karlsruhe | Germany | A5 S at J43 (Karlsruhe Nord) | €576m |
The table below provides the number of cities in each country with a population of 250,0002 or more that were analysed as part of the study. The cost to drivers in Europe of time wasted in congestion across all 45,662 traffic hotspots identified could amount to €207.9 billion by 2025.
Table 5: INRIX Roadway Analytics – Total Countries and Cities Analysed
| Country | No. of Cities (population over 250k) | No. of Traffic Hotspots | Impact Factor | 2025 Economic Cost of Congestion |
| UK | 21 | 20,375 | 11,466,416 | €70.2bn |
| Germany | 27 | 8,517 | 7,777,834 | €47.6bn |
| Italy | 12 | 5,069 | 3,540,815 | €21.7bn |
| France | 9 | 1,844 | 2,753,484 | €16.9bn |
| Spain | 16 | 2,335 | 1,950,810 | €11.9bn |
| Belgium | 3 | 925 | 1,457,345 | €8.9bn |
| Netherlands | 4 | 416 | 639,416 | €3.9bn |
| Czech Republic | 3 | 484 | 634,545 | €3.9bn |
| Hungary | 1 | 1,284 | 537,595 | €3.3bn |
| Norway | 2 | 432 | 519,331 | €3.2bn |
| Sweden | 3 | 461 | 433,584 | €2.7bn |
| Austria | 2 | 628 | 368,369 | €2.3bn |
| Luxembourg | 1 | 167 | 356,663 | €2.2bn |
| Switzerland | 1 | 214 | 356,658 | €2.2bn |
| Portugal | 1 | 311 | 307,512 | €1.9bn |
| Poland | 12 | 1,072 | 298,897 | €1.8bn |
| Slovakia | 1 | 306 | 285,362 | €1.8bn |
| Denmark | 2 | 449 | 164,231 | €1.0bn |
| Finland | 2 | 373 | 126,293 | €773 |
| Total (19) | 123 | 45,662 | 33,975,160 | €207.9bn |
To access the full research report, please visit: www2.inrix.com/traffic-hotspots-research-2016
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Notes to Editors
How is this study different from the annual INRIX Traffic Scorecard?
The annual INRIX Traffic Scorecard measures the total impact of congestion in terms of annual hours wasted for the typical car commuter in cities across Europe. It uses a different methodology and focuses specifically on peak (rush) hours and the busiest roads. It also adopts the statistical definition of a Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) commuter area.
INRIX Roadway Analytics has allowed INRIX to identify and cost individual ‘traffic hotspots’ that cause congestion to all drivers. This study does not focus on commuting roads or commuting times or LUZs. It looks at all roads within a ‘city’ for every hour of the study period and identifies the hotspots that are causing the worst congestion. INRIX also calculated the economic impact of time wasted in congestion at these traffic hotspots.
1 A key feature of INRIX Roadway Analytics is the Traffic Hotspot (Bottleneck) tool. Traffic Hotspots are locations where congestion or traffic jams occur, defined as observed speeds dropping below 65% of reference (uncongested) speed for at least 2 minutes.
2 Of the 19 countries featured in the study, all cities with more than an estimated 250,000 inhabitants in 2016 were included in the analysis. The study calls these ‘cities’ as there is no universally agreed definition of ‘city’.
3 The annual amount of time wasted at each traffic hotspot is estimated by assuming: the average traffic hotspot had 1.5 lanes of traffic; that 100 vehicles take up 1 kilometre of road space; and that each vehicle had an average of 1.2 occupants. Multiplying these numbers by the hotspot’s Impact Factor produces an estimate of the amount of time wasted at each hotspot in September 2016. An annual cost of this time can be made by multiplying the time wasted by 12 months and then monetised (i.e. converted into economic values) by multiplying it by the ‘value of time’ used by the UK Department of Transport. These costs are assumed to accrue for 10 years but future costs are discounted by the social discount rate of 3.5% per annum, because flows that we pay or receive in the future are worth less to us in today’s money.
4 The Traffic Hotspot tool in INRIX Roadway Analytics calculates the average length of all traffic jams at a hotspot, the average duration that they lasted and the number of jams that occurred at the hotspot during the study period. Multiplying these three statistics together produces the ‘Impact Factor’ – a measure of the scale or impact of each hotspot. This Impact Factor is used to rank traffic hotspots.
5 September 2016 was the latest full month of data available when the research was carried out by INRIX in October 2016. September is an average month as schools are in session and people are back at work across Europe.
Research Methodology
The Impact Factors produced by the INRIX Roadway Analytics tool were converted into estimates of hours wasted before estimating the economic cost using standard UK Department for Transport values of time. These were projected out 10 years and then discounted to generate the net present value of these savings. The results were tested by a sensitivity analysis. Further details on these steps are included in Notes to Editors, and the complete methodology, assumptions and sensitivity analysis are included in the full report.
About INRIX
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