The number of hours drivers in Switzerland spend in traffic has more than doubled in three years, according to a new study from the road traffic association Strasse Schweiz. Annually, motorists collectively spend 5,5 years stuck in gridlock.
In 2023, motorists across Switzerland spent a collective 48.807 hours stuck in traffic, the equivalent of 2.033 days or 5,5 years. This is more than double the 22.575 hours reported in 2020 and more than quadruple the 10.975 hours recorded in 2005. Most of the traffic jams were on the Swiss motorway network, though other studies have noted that cities are also hot spots for jams.
In a sign that the road network is truly at its limit, 87 percent of traffic jams in Switzerland are caused by the fact that there are simply too many drivers on the roads. Construction work only accounted for 7 percent, while road accidents only caused 4 percent of jams. Interestingly, the share of jams not caused by undercapacity has fallen from 37,5 percent in 2005 to just 13 percent today.
In a piece of good news, the study found that the number of road accidents in Switzerland has been falling. In 1995, there were 0,481 accidents for every million kilometres driven, compared to 0,28 today. Fatal incidents are also on the decline.
With most jams in Switzerland attributed to a lack of capacity, many have called for expanding the road network. In pushing for a 4,9-billion-franc highway expansion back in 2024, the Federal Council argued that the economy “depends on a modern and efficient transport infrastructure.”
A 2019 study from the Federal Office for Spatial Development found that traffic jams in Switzerland cost the economy 3 billion francs a year. With congestion having more than doubled since the last report, this figure is likely to be much higher.
However, while the government may want expansion, the same cannot be said for the general public. In the November 2024 round of national referendums, 52,7 percent of voters rejected the plans, on the grounds that it would increase pollution and, thanks to the laws of induced demand, would not reduce jams in the long term, and would eventually make them worse.
"People have realised that mobility problems cannot simply be solved with more roads," Green Liberal Party National Councillor Beat Flach said at the time. His party, among others, have called for road expansion to be put on hold, and the savings to be spent on improving public transport and making travelling by train more affordable.
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