Brussels is among the most congested cities in Europe and the world, according to a ranking by the TomTom traffic jam ranking. However, Brussels Mobility disagrees with the analysis, citing its Zone 30 traffic measures.
TomTom found that Brussels is among the most susceptible European cities to traffic jams, ranking fifth in 2023: after London, Dublin, Milan and Bucharest. At a global level, Brussels is in 10th place. According to TomTom, it takes a motorist in Brussels 27 minutes to travel 10 kilometres by car.
Brussels Mobility is critical of the ranking and wants to refute "some misconceptions" from "some GPS company." According to Brussels Mobility, "apples are being compared with oranges" in the ranking.
Brussels Mobility based its comments on TomTom's ranking from 2023 as the 2024 data was not yet confirmed, a spokesperson told The Brussels Times.
'Stable traffic jams'
According to Brussels Mobility, the travel speed is mainly a consequence of the limited maximum speed of 30 km/h in the entire Brussels-Capital Region. "Anyone who complies with the speed limits needs at least 20 minutes to travel 10 km. This does not include the time needed to wait at traffic lights or to let pedestrians cross."
Brussels Mobility added that it is much more interesting to determine the number and extent of traffic jams in Brussels using their own indicator, which compares travel time during rush hour with the 10% fastest travel times, measured during off-peak hours.
This traffic jam indicator shows that the average delay on working days in 2024 was one minute during the morning rush hour, and 2.7 minutes during the evening rush hour – showing that apart from seasonal variations traffic jams in Brussels "have remained stable" in recent years, Brussels Mobility said.
Credit: Belga
However, the Belgian roadside assistance service Touring reacted to Brussels Mobility's statement with surprise. "Brussels Mobility is hiding behind its Zone 30, while a higher speed limit still applies on the major connecting axes. That is therefore misleading."
Brussels Mobility told The Brussels Times that the maximum speed on these major axes is "still only 50 km/h, not 90 or 120 km/h."
According to Touring, Brussels Mobility also ignores the fact that traffic in the Belgian capital does not flow smoothly outside rush hour. "Touring is disappointed by the reaction of Brussels Mobility, which radiates a lack of responsibility and ambition."
The organisation concludes that Brussels is not succeeding in reducing traffic jams, despite the increased number of journeys on foot or by bike.
The TomTom world ranking for traffic jam cities bundles the traffic trends of 387 cities from 55 countries, based on the Traffic Index data from 600 million navigation systems and/or smartphones.
