Ever been stuck in traffic on your way to work and wondered if people in other Swiss cities have it as bad? Thanks to the latest study from TomTom, it’s been confirmed that Zurich has the worst traffic jams in Switzerland, with drivers spending nearly four days a year stuck in gridlock.

Tom Tom Traffic Index 2024

To create the Traffic Index, TomTom analysed traffic jams in 500 cities situated in 62 countries around the world. Using data from their satellite navigation and live traffic tracking systems, the company calculated how long it would take drivers to travel 10 kilometres in the city, the average amount of time drivers lose each year stuck in jams and average levels of congestion.

In 2024, the study found that Barranquilla in Columbia had the longest average travel time, at over 36 minutes to cover 10 kilometres. With a congestion level of 45 percent, drivers lose a total of 130 hours while sitting in traffic every year. London took the number one spot for the worst travel time in Europe and the fifth-worst worldwide at around 33 minutes to drive 10 kilometres in the city centre. 

By contrast, the city with the best traffic was found to be Thousand Oaks in the US state of California. There, drivers are able to whizz through the town, covering 10 kilometres in just eight minutes and 36 seconds. Little Rock, Arkansas (9 minutes, 20 seconds) Meza, Arizona (9 minutes, 39 seconds) and Amersfoort in the Netherlands rounded out the top four.

Which Swiss cities are best (and worst) for traffic jams?

For Switzerland, Zurich was ranked as having the worst traffic jams in 2024, with motorists having to spend an average of 26 minutes and 18 seconds driving to cover just 10 kilometres, 10 seconds longer than in 2023. TomTom estimated that drivers in the Swiss metropolis spend 94 hours a year stuck in traffic jams, making the city the 80th worst in the world.

Zurich was followed by Geneva. Motorists spent an average of 25 minutes and 59 seconds travelling 10 kilometres in 2024, 10 seconds longer than last year. However, the city was ranked as significantly more congested than Zurich, with drivers in the westernmost Swiss city spending an average of 4,6 days in traffic every year.

The one bright spot was for the people of Bern, with the de-facto capital ranked as the most traffic-free of the six Swiss cities analysed. There, drivers can zoom across 10 kilometres of the city in just 13 minutes and 46 seconds.

In all, here are six cities in Switzerland, ranked from slowest to fastest travel times over 10 kilometres:

1. Zurich (26 minutes, 18 seconds)
2. Geneva (25 minutes, 59 seconds)
3. Lausanne (21 minutes, 13 seconds)
4. Basel (17 minutes, 50 seconds)
5. Lugano (15 minutes, 38 seconds)
6. Bern (13 minutes, 46 seconds)

For more information, and to see how other cities around the world ranked, check out the TomTom website.

Thumb image credit: Michael Derrer Fuchs / Shutterstock.com