Cork is the 42nd most congested city in the world, according to the latest figures from the TomTom Traffic Index. Better than Dublin (3rd) and much worse than London (75th).

The figures tell their own story. In Cork city, the average speed during rush hour is 21km/h, 1km/h slower than in 2024, and a miniscule fraction faster than your average cyclist in city traffic at 12-20km/h.

However, traffic is not just about speed – it is also about flow. TomTom figures report that congestion levels in Cork last year deteriorated to an average of 56.9%, up 4.7% on 2024.

Congestion levels are calculated by collecting all travel times recorded in a given area and comparing them to the lowest travel times from when traffic is in a free-flowing state. Congestion levels are then expressed as a percentage, which represents the increase in travel time due to excess traffic.

TomTom found that it took motorists an average of 23 minutes, 10 seconds to travel 10km in Cork city last year. At evening rush hour, this increased to 28 minutes, 24 seconds with an average congestion level of 97.1%.

Overall, time lost due to rush hour in 2025 amounted to 107 hours – that’s four days and 11 hours sitting in traffic - seven hours and 40 minutes more than 2024.

“As people flock to cities never designed to house such vast populations, traffic will continue to worsen until cities act now, arm themselves with the right data and the most useful and trusted insights,” said a........

© Evening Echo