For the first time since the creation of TomTom's Traffic Index, Lyon has topped the ranking of the most congested cities in France. It's not the best title for the city, as it now surpasses Paris, Marseille, and Bordeaux. With an average congestion rate of 47.2% in 2025, up from 46.5% last year, the trend is clear: it's getting increasingly jammed on Lyon's roads.
XXL congestion peaks during rush hour
This ranking is based on solid data from over 600 million navigation systems worldwide. The index measures the increase in travel times compared to smooth traffic. In Lyon, this means that a journey expected to take 10 minutes actually takes an average of 15 minutes. This is a first for Lyon, which had never before occupied the top spot on this very congested podium.
While the average is already steep, rush hour sends the numbers skyrocketing.
In the morning, congestion climbs to 80%, and in the evening, between 5 PM and 6 PM, it reaches up to 90%, even nearing 100% on Thursdays and Fridays. The result: travel times are nearly doubled, turning each commute home into a mini endurance challenge.More than five days a year lost in traffic jams
Specifically, Lyon drivers are paying the price in time. For a daily 10 km commute during peak hours, that's an average of 121 hours lost each year in traffic jams. More than five full days spent staring at red lights, which is two hours more than in 2024. Time evaporated, all due to congestion.
This situation can be explained by a well-identified local context. Reduced lanes, an increase in construction at the end of terms, development of bike paths, and a political will to decrease the space allocated to cars: these are all factors straining the network. Even though the number of vehicles is decreasing, the road capacity...utière drops even faster now, causing high congestion.
Record congestion, but not the slowest city
Paradoxically, Lyon is not the slowest city in France. With an average speed of 21.8 km/h, it even moves faster than Paris or Nancy. This shows that congestion and slowness don't always go hand in hand: here, the main issue is the sudden increase in travel times during peak hours. Lyon is on the move… but often at a standstill.
Source : Le Progrès