Commuters in Nice lost an average of 32 hours to sitting in bottlenecked traffic in 2024, according to a new report from INRIX, a company specialising in real-time traffic analysis. Though it may sound like a considerable amount of wasted time, the figure is actually down 6% from the previous year and is far less than the 97 hours suffered by drivers in Paris.
Traffic in Nice has long frustrated residents, but recent data from INRIX suggests that the city may be turning a corner when it comes to backlogged roads.
According to INRIX’s Global Traffic Scorecard 2024, which reviewed data on congestion in nearly 1,000 cities worldwide, Nice ranked 235th globally for traffic delays. On a national level, Nice was the 18th most congested city in France last year, a respectable position given its status as the nation’s fifth-largest city by population.
On average, commuters spent 32 hours stuck in traffic in Nice. While this ranking reflects ongoing traffic challenges, there is a silver lining: local congestion appears to be on the decline.
There was a 6% decline in the amount of time that drivers lost to traffic between 2024 and 2023. The decrease reflects city-wide and regional efforts to tackle congestion and optimise urban mobility, though certain areas remain traffic hotspots. The Voie Pierre-Mathis, Gambetta Boulevard and the A8 motorway are among the metropolitan area’s most congested routes, where heavy traffic continues to disrupt daily commutes.
Paris tops the domestic table
Unsurprisingly, Paris topped the French charts. Drivers in the capital lost a staggering 97 hours to traffic jams on average in 2024. Marseille and Bordeaux round out the top 3 most congested cities in the country.
Drivers across the Île-de-France region face particularly harsh conditions. In 2024, the region recorded an average of 70 hours lost to traffic annually, with Tuesday mornings between 8am and 9am emerging as the worst hour to be on the road. During this peak period, journeys in Île-de-France took 52% longer than under free-flowing conditions.
The French congestion metric, known as the Travel Time Tax (T3), has revealed that urban journeys during peak hours take 14.3% longer on average than they would in uncongested conditions. This figure compares favourably to other European nations such as the United Kingdom, Germany and the Benelux region, where delays are more severe.
Globally, Istanbul earned the dubious distinction of being the most congested city in 2024, with drivers losing an astonishing 105 hours to traffic jams.
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