Report has revealed that Lagos, Africa’s largest megacity and world’s fastest growing metropolis, is not among the world’s worst cities with the historic record of traffic congestion.

According to Ceoafrica, the report tagged: “World Traffic Index 2017,” which measures traffic congestion in 390 cities across 48 countries globally, and issued by TomTom, a global leader in traffic management, navigation and mapping products, did not list Lagos with cities with the worst cases of traffic congestion in the period under review.

Consequently, the report ranked Mexico City in Mexico as the world’s worst city with drivers expecting “to spend an average of 66 per cent extra travel time stuck in traffic anytime of the day and up to 101per cent in the evening peak periods versus a free flow, or uncongested situation”.

The report showed that Africa recorded a 15 per cent increase in traffic congestion between 2015 and 2016; North America 5 per cent, Europe 9 per cent, Asia and Oceania 12 per cent and South America 7 per cent.

While Africa at large recorded a 15 per cent rise in traffic congestion, the report showed a 10 per cent rise in global traffic congestion between 2015 and 2016, but did not list Lagos among those cities with the worst cases of traffic congestion within the same period.

Apart from Mexico, the report ranked Bangkok in Thailand with an average of extra travel time of 61 per cent, Jakarta in Indonesia with 58 per cent, Chongqing in China with 52 per cent and Bucharest in Romania 50 per cent, making up the top five most congested cities in the world.

Other cities with the worst cases of extra travel time include Rio de Janeiro in Brazil 47 per cent, Beijing in China 46 per cent, Los Angeles in the US 45 per cent, Moscow in Russia 44 percent, Santiago in Chile 43 per cent, Buenos Aires in Brazil 42 per cent, St. Petersburg in Russia 41 per cent, Salvador in El Salvador 40 per cent and London in the UK 40 per cent.

Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde, in his reaction on Sunday, said the fact that Lagos was not ranked with the cities with the worst cases of traffic congestion indicated that the strategy of Governor Akinwunmi

Ambode-led government was indeed working.

He described Ambode’s approach to traffic management in the last two years as creative and outstanding, saying such approach had ensured that Lagos was not found amongst worst cities with traffic issues in the world.

Ayorinde recalled that Governor Ambode was confronted with intractable traffic congestion when he assumed office in 2015, a situation, which he said compelled him “to convene a 2015 Traffic Summit in the same year”.

“The summit has indeed provided insight into the root causes of the state’s traffic congestion,” he added, saying that the outcome of the summit led Governor Ambode to introduced laybys and slip roads “to knotty areas; remove roundabouts along Lekki Epe Expressway and replace them with signalised lights”.

He added that the governor approved the construction of foot bridges at Berger among other traffic areas “to ensure free flow of traffic while also adding to the number of officials of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) for the first time in 10 years”.