Location technology specialist TomTom has released the results of a report detailing traffic congestion from 57 countries around the world.
Sydney took the top spot in Australia as the most congested city with drivers.
Drivers in Sydney spend on average an extra 33% of travel time stuck in traffic, working out to be an additional 10 minutes for every 30 minute trip.
Melbourne followed a close second with a congestion level of 30%, followed by Brisbane at 25%, Adelaide and the Gold Coast at 24% congestion.
Sydney is the only city in Australia which made it to the top 100 most congested cities, ranked 86th in the world for heaviest traffic.
Results show an increase in traffic congestion in 4 out of the 10 cities measured in Australia, with Hobart having the biggest increase of 2% from the previous year.
Average congestion in Sydney and Melbourne are both higher than the global average congestion level of 29%
Sydney and Melbourne are the national hotspots where commuters experienced the same levels of congestion during peak hours.
In these capital cities, between 7am-8am and 5pm-6pm are the worst times to be on the roads.
On average, Sydneysiders experienced an average of 63% extra travel time during the morning rush, and a 58% extra travel time during the evening rush.
Sydneysiders experienced up to 67% more travel time on a Tuesday morning, and 63% extra travel time stuck in traffic on a Thursday afternoon, adding an extra 20 minutes for a 30 minute trip.
The report found that traffic congestion has increased globally during the last decade.
Globally, Bengaluru takes the top spot with drivers in the Indian city expecting to spend an average of 71% extra travel time stuck in traffic.
Next in the global rankings are Manila, in the Philippines at 71%, and Bogota in Colombia at 68%, topping the list of the three most congested cities in the world.
Phil Allen, TomTom’s VP Sales Asia Pacific said “Globally, there’s a long road to travel until congestion levels are brought under control,”
“In time, the rise of autonomous vehicles and car-sharing services will help alleviate congestion, but planners and policymakers can’t afford to sit and wait,”
“They need to use all the tools available to them to analyse traffic levels and impacts, so they can make critical infrastructure decisions and drivers have a role to play too, Small changes in driving behaviours can make a huge difference.”