Toronto drivers spend 199 hours per year in traffic. Here's how we stack up among the world's most traffic clogged cities

A new study has revealed that Torontonians are spending approximately 199 hours per year in traffic.

The study, conducted by British car rental company Nationwide Vehicle Contracts, suggests that the top speed Toronto drivers reach during rush hour is 25 km/h. Researchers have ranked data from 15 different countries, and Toronto’s traffic is the 13th worst in the world, falling just behind Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Bangkok in Thailand.

It’s unsurprising Toronto’s traffic ranks among the worst in the world – public transit projects like the Ontario Line and the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, as well as infrastructure maintenance along crucial downtown arteries like Lake Shore Boulevard, frequently brings the city to a standstill during rush hour.

With the partial closure of Queen Street in Toronto’s downtown core, the City of Toronto announced a plan to mitigate gridlock, with an increased traffic workforce and modified traffic signals in priority areas.

While promoting “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Park One,” last month, Tom Cruise commented on the congestion, asking “what’s up with the traffic in Toronto?” during an interview. Mayor Olivia Chow responded to his quip, saying that his comment “echoe[d] the report we saw from the Board of Trade…to say our public transit system could be so much better if it was more reliable.”

‘’Unfortunately with any major city across the world comes the risk of traffic jams, drivers are travelling in and out the city at all times, and with the added congestion of streetcars, pedestrians and construction, drivers are fighting a losing battle when it comes to traffic in Toronto,” a representative from Nationwide Vehicle Contracts said in a press release.