Report: Traffic Congestion in KL Improves Due to Covid-19, Drivers Now Only Waste 48 Hours Per Year

Although not many good things have come out of the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been some positive outcomes that have come out of the pandemic.

A study recently revealed that traffic congestion in Kuala Lumpur has drastically reduced all thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The study called ‘TomTom Traffic Index’ by software company specialising in location technology TomTom, covers 404 cities across 58 countries on 6 continents and ranks urban congestion worldwide.

It ranked KL in the 210th spot on the annual index. According to the report, drivers in KL waste the equivalent of 48 hours a year stuck in the city centre due to congestion.

“In 2021, a noticeable decrease in congestion levels was seen in KL. The data suggests the average travel time decreased by 4 min per day.”

In 2020, KL ranked 77th or a time loss of 126 hours, while in 2019 it ranked 46th with 170 hours wasted.

KL’s congestion level in 2021 is 21% which means that on average, travel times were 21% longer than during the  non-congested conditions. Meanwhile, KL’s congestion levels was 28% in 2020 and 37% in 2019.

The study also revealed that back in 2019 and 2020, Friday 6pm to 7pm was the worst time to drive. However in 2021, Wednesday 6pm to 7pm was the worst.

Based on the latest index, Istanbul is in first place with the worst traffic congestion with people wasting 142 hours a year due to traffic congestion.

Check out the study here.

Do you feel that traffic was slightly better last year? Let us know in the comments.

Also read: PDRM: Over 50,000 Vehicles Will Enter Penang DAILY During CNY Holidays