A new study claims to have revealed the best and worst commuter cities in the UK – and the ‘worst’ top spot isn’t what you’d expect.
With its overcrowded tube cars, endless queues and high costs, many Brits would bet London would win this title by a mile.
But surprisingly, the English capital comes in second place, followed by Edinburgh in first place.
The research was compiled by Capital on Tap, which analyzed 30 of the UK’s most populous cities to highlight the best and the worst.
They looked at a variety of differentiating factors, including the average length of travel per week, the average cost of a monthly travel pass, and even how happy residents are.
A new study claims to have revealed the best and worst commuter cities in the UK; However, people are baffled by the first place (file image)
The research was compiled by Capital on Tap, which analyzed 30 of the UK’s most populous cities to highlight the best and the worst.
With the longest commute per week (11 and a half hours) and the most days spent commuting (75 per year), Edinburgh firmly holds the number one spot on the list of worst cities for commuting.
In second place is London, where the average weekly travel time is 7.83 hours per week or 51 days per year.
Although there is a difference of about four hours a week between the Scottish and English capitals, London is much more expensive.
The average monthly travel pass will cost you around £182.28, while in Edinburgh it is less than half that figure, costing £59.93.
The West Midlands continue to dominate the bad list, with Wolverhampton, Coventry and Stoke-on-Trent in third, fourth and fifth place.
The three cities have an average weekly commute time of 7.30 hours or 47 days a year.
However, Coventry has the cheapest travel pass at £49.16, while Wolverhamptom costs £60 per month and Stoke-on-Trent costs £65 per month.
It is actually the “resident happiness index” that lifts Wolverhampton, with a score of 7.49, compared to Coventry (7.45) and Stoke-on-Trent (7.32).
At the other end of the scale, according to research, the best city for commuting to work in the UK is Belfast.
The Northern Ireland city has a very low weekly commute time of just 0.58 hours or four days a year, along with a relatively cheap monthly commute cost of £59.53.
In second place is Sunderland, with 5.09 hours of travel per week, 33 days per year and an average monthly cost of a travel pass of £27.
Meanwhile, Leeds, Kingston upon Hull and Sheffield also feature on the good list.
The research comes just after another new study revealed that walking to work every day could reduce the risk of having a heart attack, but only if it’s a fairly long walk.
New research shows that workers who walk for at least 45 minutes total (or a little more than 20 minutes each way) have better cardiovascular health than those who rely on cars or public transportation.
Blood tests revealed that they had much lower levels of C-reactive protein, a harmful molecule known to be linked to an increased risk of blood clots that can cause heart attacks and strokes.
Elevated CRP levels can indicate dangerous inflammation in the arteries that supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart and brain.
It’s well known that regular brisk walking is good for the heart, but researchers at the University of Eastern Finland wanted to see how much time workers need to commute on foot to reap the benefits.