Traffic jams to cost UK more than £300 billion by 2030

A recent study predicts that the cost of traffic congestion to the UK will rise 63 per cent by 2030 to a whopping £21 billion every year.

The investigation, carried out by leading international traffic information provider INRIX and the Centre for Economics and Business Research, revealed that drivers can expect to spend even longer stuck in traffic over the coming years.

As a result, the study found that between 2013 and 2030, the total cumulative cost of congestion to the UK economy is likely to reach a staggering £307 billion. This increase in costs has been attributed to population growth and increasing wealth as the UK economy develops boosting car ownership levels.

“This study is a warning of the worsening impact of gridlock on the British economy and on household budgets,” said Matt Simmons, European director, INRIX. “We now know that congestion will continue to have serious consequences for national and city economies, businesses and citizens in the years to come. If we think this problem is bad now, we are in for a terrible shock come 2030.”

The study continues to state that in the UK last year, almost 70% of the workforce commuted to work by car during peak times, with the average British driver spending 124 hours stuck in gridlock annually, and this is set to rise to 136 hours in 2030 – the equivalent of 18 working days a year.

This has both direct and indirect economic impacts on households commuting by car, with direct costs relating to the value of fuel and the time wasted, and indirect costs including higher freight transport and business fees from company vehicles idling in traffic – all of which is ultimately passed on as additional costs to household bills.

This article was also featured on AOL Cars