Transport

Transport in the city should be as smooth as possible. At least, that is what all passengers would wish for. An interesting indicator is the time lost during a 30-minute journey, which represents the number of minutes by which a 30-minute car journey in the city is extended during the evening or afternoon rush hour.

TomTom serves as the source of the data used for analysis, which anonymizes data from in-car navigation systems for research purposes. According to this data, the time lost in Prague during 2019, 2020, and 2021 was relatively average compared to nine other cities. Warsaw, Zurich, and Budapest were among the cities experiencing the worst traffic, while Copenhagen fared the best.

We hypothesize that the general trend observed in the comparison cities, where traffic was at its worst in 2019, improved in 2020, and then worsened again in 2021, can be attributed to movement restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Chart: Time lost druing evening rush hour in a 30 minute ride

Year: 2019-2021

Area: City territory

*Source: tomtom.com 

In addition to internal traffic, commuting from the surrounding areas into the city also influences traffic flow. The available data indicate that the level of commuting to Prague was relatively low, with a similar value to the much smaller cities of Copenhagen and Zurich. When we adjust for the number of inhabitants, Prague's commuting levels are comparable to Vienna, Warsaw, and Budapest. Munich and Copenhagen, on the other hand, have roughly double the number, while Barcelona, Zurich, Amsterdam, and Milan have even more. This implies that the labor market in these cities is significantly used by the surrounding residents, which, in turn, has a significant impact on traffic volumes.

Chart: Number of commuters in thousands

Year: 2011-2020

Area: City territory

*Source: Czech Statistical Office Labor Force Sample Survey, statistik.at, stadt.muenchen.de, Statistical Office in Warszawa, ksh.hu, Census 2011, Statistic Denmark, ajuntament.barcelona.cat/estadistica - Departament d'Estadística i Difusió de Dades - Ajuntament de Barcelona, stadt-zuerich.ch, cbs.nl, istat.it

Data are for 2011 and 2020 (Barcelona 2019, Milan 2019, Warsaw 2016), including calculations by IPR Prague. 

Integrating car and public transport through car parks (Park & Ride) can be an effective strategy for managing daily commuting to cities. Prague's number of Park & Ride spaces has been steadily increasing, albeit still relatively average compared to the nine other cities. However, if we consider car park capacity concerning the volume of commuting to the city, Prague ranks second only to Vienna, due to the relatively lower volume of commuting to Prague as discussed above.

Chart: Number of park and ride slots and their ratio to the total number of commuters (%)  

Year: 2020-2022

Area: City territory

*Source: TSK Praha, wien.gv.at, mvv-muenchen.de, Statistical Office in Warszawa, bkk.hu, international.kk.dk, aparcamentsbsm.cat and webarcelona.net/parkings-in-barcelona, Google map and parking.ch, amsterdam.nl, atm.it

The figure for Milan includes the number of ATM parking spaces at public transport stations and stops, the data include calculations by IPR Prague.