Worst traffic list puts Vancouver, Montreal before Toronto
Los Angeles leads TomTom Congestion Index
A new survey shows Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto parked among the top five cities in North America when it comes to traffic delays.
Vancouver is second only to Los Angeles in the 26 cities tallied in a traffic-congestion survey from GPS firm TomTom covering the second quarter of this year.
The study compares travel times during non-congested periods with those during peak hours. The difference is expressed as a percentage of increased driving times.
The research, using data drawn from the company's subscribers, shows drivers in Vancouver have their overall commute delayed an extra 33 per cent during congestion compared to when traffic flows smoothly.
Montreal took fourth place in the survey, while Toronto came in fifth, Ottawa was 12th and Calgary was 16th (see top 10 list below).
CBC Toronto reporter Trevor Dunn on Friday asked drivers about the survey. Some were skeptical about its findings.
Toronto cab driver Mansour Hussain said he's certain Toronto gridlock is the worst in Canada.
"I’ve been to Vancouver and I’ve been to Montreal. They are not that bad," he said.
City traffic: How slow can you go?
The top 10 most congested North American cities, ranked by overall congestion level, between April and June 2012 were:
1. Los Angeles 34%
2. Vancouver 33%
3. San Francisco 29%
4. Montreal 28%
5. Toronto 27%
6. Washington 26%
7. Seattle 26%
8.New York 25%
9. Chicago 23%
10. Miami 22%
Source: TomTom Congestion Index
With files from CBC News