More than 40% of businesses are losing money as a result of traffic congestion, according to new research found by Close Brothers Asset Finance. Within the company’s quarterly survey, they found that 83% of firms believe that traffic congestion is a ‘problem’. 41% of respondents claimed congestion had an impact on their profits and the same percentage of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) said they are incapable of trading at full capacity. Neil Davies, CEO, Close Brothers Asset Finance said:

 “A recent study confirmed that UK drivers wasted on average 31 hours in rush-hour traffic last year, costing each motorist £1,168.” “The UK is the world’s 10th most congested country and London is Europe’s second most gridlocked city after Moscow. Manchester, Birmingham, Luton and Edinburgh complete the UK’s top five major areas affected. “As an example, one of our employees recently spent over nine hours in a traffic jam after the Dartford crossing was closed. This effectively meant that as a business we lost a whole day’s worth of output, and this is replicated across the country, costing billions of pounds in lost productivity.”

Of the respondents, a decisive 65% claimed that congestion is getting worse. Only 17% believed that it’s getting better. “What our research is telling us is that the solution to traffic congestion lies in a holistic approach, including road, rail, air and maritime,” continued Davies. The survey results show that in London, congestion has become a catastrophic problem, with 62% of survey respondents saying that they are struggling to trade properly and 57% claiming that they are losing profits. The burden now rests with TfL and all other UK sanctioning bodies to reassure SMEs owners that future transport plans will help them to trade efficiently, rather than freeze out the backbone of the UK economy. ]]>