Mexico City, number one in traffic congestion (in North America)

Mexico City retained its title as the most congested city in North America in 2019, and ranked 13th globally.

The 2019 TomTom Index¹ states that drivers in Mexico City can expect to spend 52% more travel time stuck in traffic—at any time of the day! This figure has remained unchanged for two years. During evening rush hours, they may experience up to 101% more time in traffic congestion.

Following Mexico City, the most congested cities in North America are Los Angeles (42%), Vancouver (39%), New York (37%), and San Francisco (36%).

The index is created by TomTom, a Dutch navigation and digital mapping company. Now in its eighth year (2019), it collects traffic data from 416 cities across 57 countries.

For Mexico City drivers, TomTom reports that this level of congestion adds up to 59 extra minutes of travel time per day, or 227 hours per year (almost 10 full days annually). In that time, you could listen to “Imagine” by John Lennon 3,748 times, watch 112 soccer matches, or view 173 episodes of “Game of Thrones.” This figure is calculated by measuring additional travel time during peak hours versus non-congested conditions.

Just three years ago (2016), Mexico City held the top spot as the most congested city in the world, with a congestion index of 66%. Currently, the number one spot is held by Bengaluru, India with a 71% index; second is Manila, Philippines, also at 71%; and third is Bogotá, Colombia with 68% congestion.

According to TomTom’s data, the best day to drive in Mexico City is April 19th, the day with the lowest average daily congestion. On this day, drivers can expect just 8% additional travel time. It's worth noting this day falls within one of Mexico’s most important vacation periods (Holy Week), when many residents leave the city. In contrast, the most congested day is October 17th, when drivers may expect up to 86% more time in traffic.

The data collected by TomTom comes from over 600 million drivers using GPS navigation devices, in-car navigation systems, and smartphones around the world.

¹ https://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/traffic-index/ranking/?country=CA,MX,US