Quantification of time and fuel losses due to daily traffic congestion in Kuwait

Abstract

The growing problem of daily urban traffic congestion in Kuwait has been attracted the attention of the public, the private sector, and the authorities at the highest level of national policy making. A ‘floating car’ method was utilised to measure the actual time-delays due to congestion at a representative sample of routes. Nearly, 64% of the sample population included the Kuwaiti national and 71.5% were male. About 1/3 drove their children to school. Nearly 93% either drove, or were driven to work places. Less than 5.5% used the public bus transit system. Approximately 48% spent one hour or less in traffic jams daily. Those who lost more than 2 h each day constituted more than 8%. The mean time-loss due to congestion was nearly 67 min per day. A parking charge of at least $100 per month with the provision of a ‘free transit’ system combined, may possibly shift about 50% of the sample population to public bus transit. Excluding the cost of accidents, carbon dioxide air pollution, stress and fatigue, lower work productivity, and the cost of feeling in accessibility, a total of KD 1960 * 106 (US $6.9 * 109) was estimated as the annual cost of time-loss, fuel-waste and air pollution due to traffic congestion in Kuwait in 2006.