Congestion costing work time

By Colin Windell 

Congested cities are costing commercial drivers more than a month in work time each year.

Congestion delays cause havoc with work time

For anyone traveling to work on a daily basis, the frustration of delays in heavy rush hour traffic is annoying but, spare a thought for inner city delivery drivers trying to meet deadlines.

According to new research by Mercedes-Benz in the UK, this congestion is costing these drivers more than a month of work time each year.

Delivery drivers say that, on average, 16% of their working day is lost due to congestion, which means - based on an eight hour working day - this equates to one hour and 17 minutes per day, or more than six hours across a typical working week; adding up to 37 working days a year lost due to congestion for the average delivery driver.

Greater London tops the congestion league, with respondents saying 18% of their working day is lost to congestion.

The research, undertaken amongst 2 000 van owners and operators in the UK, also highlights that congestion is now the second biggest barrier to growth, with 31% believing it will be a barrier to growth in the coming year, rising to 38% amongst fleet managers, and second only to rising fuel costs (57%).

Further to this, more than half (55%) of owners and operators said they plan on increasing the number of vans they own or operate within the next 12 months, putting additional pressure on the road network.

With the delivery economy on the rise, business operators are citing growing customer bases (47%), continuing growth of online shopping (40%) and a shift away from heavy goods vehicles as the main reason they will be investing in bigger fleets.