Climate and energy transition

Brussels ranks top on a list of the 59 most congested cities in Europe, according to a survey recently orchestrated by TomTom, the car navigation systems provider.

Indeed, data published by the Global Positioning System (GPS) producer showed daily delays recorded in over 37.7% of the Belgian capital's main roads. Trips that would normally take an hour for commuters working in Brussels are often on average 20 minutes longer than planned.

The research was established thanks to speed measurement data collected by TomTom from users who regularly connect to its devices. Traffic was defined as congested wherever drivers were traveling at 70% or less than the normal speed limit. Only cities with more than 500 000 inhabitants were included in the study.

The second most traffic-clogged city is Warsaw, followed by another Polish city, Wroclaw. London arrived fourth on the list, followed by Edinburgh and Dublin. The least congested town of the list is Zaragoza in Spain, with just 1.5% of its roads clogged.

Brussels' intense traffic can notably be explained by the fact that too many businesses and government institutions - including those of the EU - are located in the city center. Most employees, however, live in the outskirts of the city where public transportation is much more limited.

In an effort to tackle this issue, Brussels has been encouraging the use of bicycles while expanding its renting network dubbed 'Villo" with up to 2,500 bicycles available for use at 180 rental points across town.