THE AVERAGE TIME to travel 10 kilometers in Dublin increased by one minute last year, leading it to become the second slowest city in the world.

New data from location technology company TomTom has found that trips totalling 10 kilometres take 29 minutes and 30 seconds on average in the capital despite ranking above cities with much larger populations.

The “best time to avoid” driving in Dublin is Wednesday morning, between 8-9am, when the average time it takes to drive 10kms reaches an average of 41 minutes and 30 seconds.

Rush hours (8-9am and 4-5pm) on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were found to be when the highest level of emissions were released by drivers in Dublin, totalling on average approximately 2 kilograms of CO2 every hour.

London, in the UK, topped the table as the world’s slowest city, with the average 10km journey taking just over 37 minutes, an increase of one minute compared to 2022.

Below Dublin ranked Toronto in Canada (29 minutes), Milan in Italy (28 minutes 50 seconds), Lima in Peru (28 minutes 30 seconds) and Bengaluru in India (28 minutes 10 seconds).

A full list of the results from TomTom can be found here.

Despite ranking second in terms of time spent travelling 10km, Dublin ranked first in terms of congestion – with the company’s analysis suggesting the city has a 66% congestion level.

On average, a driver in Dublin spent €202 worth of fuel in 2023 just in congestion – approximately eight average-sized tanks of petrol, according to TomTom.

The data has also determined that the ‘Time lost per year at rush hours’ in Dublin totalled 158 hours in 2023, the highest in the world. The company equates the time to the average amount of time someone can spend reading 59 books.

The average speed of a vehicle in Dublin was logged at 16 km/h, also the second slowest time.

Cities Limerick and Cork ranked 212nd and 202nd, respectively, with the average time spent travelling 10km totalling in around 15 minutes and 45 seconds.

In September last year, a review commissioned by junior transport minister Jack Chambers led to government committing to reducing speed limits on many roads by 20km/h.

In the same month, The Journal revealed that an overhaul of Dublin City centre roads plans to curb cross-town traffic through deprioritising vehicular traffic through the core and boosting public transport, cycling and walking.

Includes reporting by Press Association