UAE traffic woes: Dubai motorists lose 33 hours in congestion in 2023

Post-pandemic, companies across the country have been on a hiring spree, fuelling the economy and leading to a surge in population

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Motorists across the UAE witnessed increased traffic congestion in 2023, with delays ranging from 8 to 33 hours. The rise in population and traffic levels in the country post-pandemic contributed to these commute times, according to the latest data from Inrix.

Traffic jams have been identified as the main contributor to this lost time in 2023 compared to the previous year. Notably, drivers in Dubai lost 33 hours in traffic jams last year against 22 hours in the previous year as the emirate’s population increased by nearly 100,000 in 2023.

“Traffic has definitely increased in 2023-2024. It used to take an hour to reach Sheikh Zayed Road from Sharjah in the morning and 2 hours to return home in the evening. But now it takes nearly one-and-a-half hour in the morning and more than two hours on my way back,” said Anum Noor, a long-time UAE resident who commutes daily between the two emirates for work.

“Traffic within the emirates of Dubai and Sharjah has also increased. I deliver goods to customers across different locations in the two emirates daily; I barely manage to complete my work within my time because of the increased traffic,” said Waqas Saghar.

In Abu Dhabi, motorists lost 20 hours due to traffic delays and congestion, 15 hours for vehicle owners in Umm Al Quwain, 9 hours in Al Ain and 8 hours in Fujairah. The UAE capital’s population also expanded at a fast pace, surpassing Dubai in 2024 to reach nearly 3.8 million.

After the Covid-19 pandemic, companies across all sectors in the UAE have been on a hiring spree, fuelling the economy and leading to a surge in population and subsequent traffic.

In order to beat traffic congestion, the UAE is working on an air taxi transport system launch next year which will also reduce travel time between Dubai and Abu Dhabi in just 30 minutes. Travel time within the emirates will also be shortened for commuters.

The study analysed 947 urban areas worldwide. Commute times were calculated by looking exclusively at the time it takes to get to and from major employment centres within an urban area from surrounding commuting neighbourhoods.

Globally, New York topped the list of the most congested areas in the 2023 Inrix Global

Traffic Scorecard where drivers lost 101 hours to traffic jams in 2023, down from 105 hours in 2022. Financially, this cost the urban area more than $9.1 billion in lost time.

New York was followed by Mexico City, London, Paris and Chicago. London dropped from 2nd position in 2022 to third, Paris dropped from third to fourth, and Mexico City jumped from fourth to second rank.

Traffic congestion around the world continued to grow in 2023. Of all 947 urban areas analysed, delays increased by 78 per cent and decreased by 19 per cent, with 3 per cent unchanged.