IBM released its annual global “Commuter Pain Survey” 8 September 2011, with Mexico City topping the pain index at 108, closely followed by Shenzhen and Beijing (both 95). Johannesburg touched 83 with Bangalore following at 75 and New Delhi at 72. Singapore scored a middling 44 for traffic pain while London (23) and Montreal (21) pootled along with the lowest rates for gridlock hassle.
The survey showed that more people are choosing public transport over private. In several cities respondents said they had seen “substantial” improvements over the past three years. The survey scored the ratings of 8,000 people in 20 key cities around the world. Asian cities, led by India and China, featured prominently with infrastructure works both abetting and ameliorating road rage.
The survey reported, “The respondents [say] that traffic negatively impacts their stress levels, physical health and productivity. For example, 86 percent of the respondents in Beijing, 87 percent in Shenzhen, 70 percent in New Delhi and 61 percent in Nairobi report traffic as a key inhibitor to work or school performance.” And that’s not all. Depressed by visions of long tailbacks and smog, people are going off the roads. “Sixty seven percent of drivers in Mexico City, 63 percent in Shenzhen and New Delhi and 61 percent in Beijing said they had decided not to make a driving trip in the last month due to anticipated traffic – the most of all cities surveyed.”
