Calgary, Canada, is the best city in the world for driving due to low congestion, fatalities and affordability, while Mumbai, India is the worst, according to a comprehensive new study of global cities’ infrastructure, safety, costs and driver behaviour.
European car parts retailer Mister Auto, which is owned by the French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen, has released a new study that reveals the best and worst cities to drive in worldwide. The authors decided to take a deeper look into the numerous elements that impact the driving experience. From infrastructure and congestion, to associated driving costs and driver behaviour itself, the result is a comprehensive study that reveals the cities which are successfully using infrastructure and legislation to improve driving conditions for their citizens. To begin the research, data was collected for hundreds of cities worldwide, and then narrowed down to a shortlist of 100 cities that were able to provide reliable and extensive data. It was then decided to divide the parameters of the study into three categories that are most important to making a city a good location to drive in: infrastructure, safety and costs.
To determine a city’s infrastructure, a number of factors were examined, such as the number of cars per capita, traffic congestion, road and public transport quality, among others, with air quality levels also investigated. The safety of each location was analysed by the car accident fatality rate as well as the results of a survey focusing on incidents of road rage, in order to paint a picture of the aggressiveness and general driving culture in a city. The costs associated with driving in each city were evaluated, including not only the price of fuel and annual road tax paid in each location, but also the purchase parity of each country to determine how affordable driving was for its inhabitants. The final index combined a total of 15 factors to reveal the best and worst cities for car owners to drive-in worldwide.
Other highlights of the report show:
- The most affordable cities for parking are Singapore, followed by Oslo and Bern, while the least affordable cities are Ulaanbaatar, followed by Sydney and New York;
- The cities with the most incidents of road rage are Ulaanbaatar, followed by Moscow and Karachi, while the cities with the least amount of road rage incidents are Osaka, followed by Tokyo and Singapore;
- The cities with the highest fatality rate / 100,000 inhabitants are Lagos, followed by Orlando and Mumbai, while the cities with the lowest rate are Manchester, followed by Stockholm and Oslo;
- The cities with the highest air quality score are Brisbane, followed by Salvador and Stockholm, while the cities with the lowest are Lagos, followed by Karachi and Beijing;
- The cities with the best road quality score are Geneva, Zurich, and Basel, while the cities with the lowest score are Lagos, followed by Bogota and Rio de Janeiro.
- The cities with the best public transport score are New York, followed by Singapore and Tokyo, while the cities with the lowest score are Karachi, followed by Bogota and El Paso;
“Despite advances in the accessibility of transportation, cars remain the most commonly used mode of transport in the world. Whether running on fuel or electric power, cities will continue to have to make adjustments so that they can accommodate the flow of vehicles,” commented Sébastien Rohart, managing director of Mister Auto. “Our study shows that while many cities already have the infrastructure and legislation in place, there’s still a lot of work to be done towards making driving safe and affordable across the board.”
To view the full report, go to: http://www.mister-auto.co.uk/driving-cities-index/
