Traffic on the A13 motorway in London. PA
Traffic on the A13 motorway in London. PA
Traffic on the A13 motorway in London. PA
Traffic on the A13 motorway in London. PA

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UK

London 'world's slowest and second-most expensive city for driving'

Strike action caused traffic congestion in UK capital to soar last year, research shows

Soraya Ebrahimi
Soraya Ebrahimi

February 15, 2023

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London is the world’s slowest and second-most expensive city to drive in, research has found.

Geolocation technology specialist TomTom said it took an average of 36 minutes and 20 seconds to travel 10 kilometres in the centre of the UK capital in 2022.

Research shows travel in the capital took longer than in 2021. It was one minutes and 50 seconds slower than the year before and represents the longest time for a journey of that distance last year of all the 389 cities in 56 countries analysed.

TomTom traffic expert Andy Marchant said people switching to road transport during rail strikes contributed to congestion in London last year.

India’s Bengaluru had the second slowest time at 29 minutes and 10 seconds, followed by Dublin, Ireland (28 minutes and 30 seconds) and Sapporo, Japan (27 minutes and 40 seconds).

Other UK cities ranked in the top 50 for congestion were Manchester (24th place with 23 minutes and 10 seconds), Liverpool (32nd place with 22 minutes and 20 seconds) and Edinburgh (42nd place with 21 minutes and 30 seconds).

Analysis of the cost of driving – based on the price of petrol, diesel and charging an electric vehicle, and taking into account the effect of congestion on fuel use – found that London was the world’s second-most expensive city to drive in last year, behind only Hong Kong.

Hong Kong was the most expensive city in the world to drive in last year, new research shows. EPA
Hong Kong was the most expensive city in the world to drive in last year, new research shows. EPA

Also in the top 50 list was Bristol (19th), Brighton (41st), Manchester (47th) and Edinburgh (48th).

TomTom found that the cost of using fast EV charge points in London was among the highest in the world last year.

To drive 16,000km in London in 2022, residents charging their cars in this way spent about £2,055 ($2,503), compared with £1,969 in Paris, £1,888 in Brussels, £1,794 in Berlin and £1,220 in New York.

“Due to the configuration of the road network in central London, travel times even without traffic are some of the highest in the world," Mr Marchant said.

“This doesn’t mean that London is the most congested city in the world.

“However, there is a clear link between increased traffic congestion and London’s slowest average speed in 2022.

“While strike action caused traffic congestion levels to soar, better traffic management based on real-time data intelligence is needed throughout the year to ensure viable traffic flows and the efficient use of city infrastructure.”

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Updated: February 15, 2023, 12:01 AM
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