© Provided by The iInner London boroughs appear to have been hit the hardest (Photo: Getty)
A traffic congestion divide has opened up in the UK with roads in London, the East, the West Midlands and the South East now busier than before the pandemic - while the rest of the country is seeing fewer vehicles on the streets.
The increase is particularly marked in London, which has seen traffic delays due to congestion increase by an average of 30 per cent on its A roads since January last year, according to a new analysis.
The East of England has seen a rise of 5 per cent, the West Midlands 4 per cent and the South East 2 per cent.
Meanwhile every other region has seen traffic delays fall.
"On average, UK delays outside London have dropped around 7 per cent since last January," according to a study by Huq Industries, which supplies 'footfall' data to retailers and other businesses.
Those regions that have seen an increase are generally densely populated areas that have traditionally relied heavily on public transport.
In these locations, the increase in car use comes as people steer clear of public transport. It also outweighs the reduction in the overall number of car journeys taken due to more people than ever working from home.
But in those areas where public transport use was much lower to start with, the increase in home working means far fewer cars are now on the roads.
"Many people now favour their car over using public transport for their essential journeys, as it provides peace of mind in a secure, single-occupant environment. If certain roads are closed to vehicles, it simply means people are finding alternative routes and causing greater congestion," said Huq Industries chief executive Conrad Poulson.
"In London there is a heavy reliance on public transport, and so the effect of even a small number of people moving to private transport creates an issue. With congestion rising by around 30 per cent in the capital despite reduced mobility due to lockdown, you wonder what will happen once a form of normality resumes. Traffic isn't simply evaporating because there are fewer places for it to go."
Inner London boroughs appear to have been hit the hardest. The study found that the top five boroughs for increased road delays in the city are Lambeth, with a 34.7 per cent rise since January last year, followed by Wandsworth, at 33.9 per cent, Islington (33.6 per cent), Southwark (33.3 per cent) and Hackney (32.2 per cent).