Bristol is one of the slowest cities in the UK for drivers, research reveals

Bristol is the fourth-slowest city centre in the UK according to new research. London was slowest, with widespread 20mph speed limits getting the blame. Journeys of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) in Bristol took an average of 22mins and 40secs.

In central London it was 37mins 20 secs last year, location technology company TomTom said. The London figure was one minute more than in 2022 and was the longest time among the 387 cities across 55 countries analysed, putting it top of the slow city centre ranking for the second year in a row. In overall second was Irish capital Dublin, with 10km trips typically taking 29mins and 30secs.

It was followed by Toronto, Canada (29mins); Milan, Italy (28mins and 50secs); and Lima, Peru (28mins and 30secs). In the UK, Manchester was ranked second (23mins and 30 secs), followed by Liverpool (22mins and 50 secs), Bristol (22mins and 40 secs) and Edinburgh (21mins and 30 secs). Travel times increased last year in 21 of the 25 UK cities analysed.

TomTom based its analysis on journeys in a 5km radius of city centres. The company’s head of government and regulatory affairs, Stephanie Leonard, said: “London really is the slowest place in the world to drive a car. Especially in the core city centre, you don’t have maximum speed limits of 50mph or higher, it’s a maximum of 20mph.

You don’t have the infrastructure for driving very quickly.” Transport for London (TfL) lowered speed limits to 20mph on a further 65km (40.4 miles) of roads in the south of the capital during the final four months of last year. When the measure was announced in September, the transport body said it would bring the total length of roads with a 20mph limit to 140km (87 miles), making them “safer for everyone”.

I

References

1. ^ Every mobile speed camera location across Bristol region this week listed in full (www.bristolpost.co.uk)