Photo: Coconuts Media
We all knew that Jakarta had some of the worst traffic in the world, but it still hurts to have it come in dead last in a survey ranking major cities of how bad their traffic is.
The Castrol Magnatec Stop-Start Index is based on the number of times that people have to stop and start moving in heavy traffic (hence the name). Based on the data used to generate the index people in Jakarta have to make approximately 33,240 stop-starts per year, higher than any other city in the survey.
Here is where we’d like to point out that Castrol’s Index does not include information on every major city in the world. In fact, it only has data on 78 cities and does not include many of those that routinely make other “worst traffic in the world” lists such as Cairo, Bangladesh and Manila . (We’re not saying the traffic in Jakarta isn’t horrible, but it may not truly be the worst in the world, technically… despite what the headline of this article says).
The data used to create the index was calculated by TomTom, a company best known for their GPS navigational devices for cars. Those devices anonymously send back coordinate information on each vehicle that lets analyst quantify exactly how bad your commute sucks:
Right behind Jakarta in the index is Istanbul, Mexico City and yes, Surabaya at #4. On the other end of the index, Tampere, Finland, leads the pack in least packed streets, followed by Rotterdam.
You can see a list of the 10 worst and best traffic cities below, or go to the index’s website directly to see an interactive map with the complete results.
10 Cities with the Worst Traffic
10. Buenos Aires, Argentina – 23,760
9. Guadalajara, Mexico – 24,840
8. Bangkok, Thailand – 27,480
7. Rome, Italy – 28,680
6. Moscow, Russia – 28,680
5. St. Petersburg, Russia – 29,040
4. Surabaya, Indonesia – 29,880
3. Mexico City, Mexico – 30,840
2. Istanbul, Turkey – 32,520
1. Jakarta, Indonesia – 33,240
10 Cities With the Best Traffic:
10. Kosice, Slovakia – 7,440
9. Copenhagen, Denmark – 7,440
8. Brno, Czech Republic – 7,320
7. Porto, Portugal – 7,200
6. Antwerp, Belgium – 7,080
5. Brisbane, Australia – 6,960
3. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – 6,840
3. Bratislava, Slovakia – 6,840
2. Rotterdam, The Netherlands – 6,360
1, Tampere, Finland – 6,240
