Slower to drive in Singapore when compared to KL for 10km trips in rush hour, study shows
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 — Drivers in Kuala Lumpur are on average able to complete 10km trips in the city centre in less time, as compared to drivers in Singapore, a 2022 study by digital mapping company TomTom shows.
But Kuala Lumpur drivers actually spent more time driving and their cars moved at a slower speed in the city centre during rush hour, when compared to Singapore.
In the TomTom Traffic Index's 2022 ranking of 389 cities across 56 countries released yesterday, London had the longest average travel time for 10km trips at 36 minutes and 20 seconds, with its cars moving the slowest globally at just an average speed of 14km per hour during rush hour.
London was also ranked number one as the city where drivers spent the most time on the road during rush hour in 2022, namely 325 hours.
In comparison, Kuala Lumpur was ranked 143rd globally, with drivers having an average travel time of 16 minutes and 10 seconds for a 10 km trip in the city centre in 2022.
During rush hour, Kuala Lumpur drivers move at an average speed of 29 km per hour, and spend 159 hours on the road.
This is slightly faster than Singapore which ranked 127th globally, where it takes 16 minutes and 30 seconds for a 10 km trip, but with cars during rush hour moving at a faster speed of 31 km per hour and a lower number of 150 hours spent on the road during peak hours.
As compared to Kuala Lumpur, it also took longer to complete 10 km trips in the city centre in other Southeast Asian cities in 2022, namely Manila which was ranked ninth globally (27 minutes), Jakarta (ranked 29th, 22 minutes 40 seconds, and Bangkok (ranked 57th, 20 minutes 40 seconds).
When it comes to 10 km trips in the metro area, however, the TomTom 2022 ranking showed that it was significantly faster both in terms of time and speed to drive in Kuala Lumpur when compared to Singapore.
In metro areas, it would take Kuala Lumpur drivers an average of 12 minutes and 50 seconds to complete a 10km distance, while Singapore drivers would take longer at 14 minutes and 30 seconds.
During rush hour, drivers in Kuala Lumpur's metro areas spent 120 hours on the road with a faster average speed of 38 km per hour in 2022, as compared to drivers in Singapore with 131 hours on the road at average speeds of 35 km per hour.
For the time spent on the road during rush hour last year, TomTom calculated this based on the travel time for 10km trips during the busiest hour in the morning and evening of each city over an assumed 230 working days in the year.
TomTom defines the city centre area as a circle with a 5km radius covering the busiest and most congested parts of cities, while the metro area coveers the city and rural areas in close proximity and which has faster traffic than the city centre and often includes more distance involving highways.
The full traffic ranking can be found here.
