study
Despite high fuel prices, commuters rely on their cars
Heavy traffic in the morning in the Heckenstallerstrasse tunnel on the Mittlerer Ring B2R in Munich. photo
© Matthias Balk/dpa
Gasoline and diesel drivers had to pay more for a tank of fuel in 2022 than in 2021. Have rising costs discouraged commuters in big cities from using their cars?
The high prices for petrol and diesel last year did not deter people in Germany from using their cars more to commute to work. This is the result of an analysis of traffic patterns by the mapping specialist TomTom.
Even the possibility of working from home has not led to a decline. “Surprisingly, the time that commuters lose during rush hour in the major German cities surveyed has actually increased in many places over the past year,” explained a TomTom spokesman.
Cars in the center of Hamburg made the slowest progress
2022 drivers spent the longest time in a traffic jam at rush hour in Munich – a total of 67 hours and 9 minutes. This was followed by Hamburg with 66 hours and 5 minutes, Berlin (61 hours and 39 minutes) and Leipzig (60 hours and 11 minutes).
Throughout the day, the vehicles in the center of Hamburg made the slowest progress. On average, they needed more than 23 minutes for a ten-kilometer route. This corresponds to a speed of 26 kilometers per hour (km/h). Berlin, Leipzig, Munich and Cologne follow in the statistics. In the cathedral city, a vehicle needed an average of 19 minutes and 20 seconds to cover the 10-kilometre route.
“TomTom Traffic Index”: Energy costs evaluated for the first time
For the “TomTom Traffic Index” for the year 2022, the data from smartphones and built-in navigation systems were evaluated. It is estimated that every seventh automobile in Germany was involved in data collection. TomTom evaluated data from around 600 million vehicles worldwide.
The energy costs were evaluated for the first time in the index: Against the background of the energy crisis caused by the Ukraine war, the prices for petrol in Germany rose by an average of 21 percent, and for diesel the increase was as much as 38 percent. Using an electric vehicle was one way to keep travel costs low and constant, even when charging the vehicle at the more expensive quick charging stations in German cities.
When using conventional AC charging stations with slower charging speeds, 46 percent of energy costs were saved in 2022 compared to a petrol engine. According to TomTom, when using a fast charger, the cost savings were still 14 percent compared to a petrol car.