An international survey of drivers in 23 cities around the world found 80 percent of Auckland drivers complained about travel stress
In the "commuter-pain" index commissioned by technology giant IBM, 402 Auckland drivers were surveyed in October and 74 per cent said they regularly travelled to work in single-occupancy cars.
Of the 402 drivers, 30 per cent complained of negative health effects, particularly higher stress and anger levels, the New Zealand Herald reported today.
The survey also spoke to 500 drivers in Wellington and Christchurch.
The survey revealed that 33 per cent of drivers believed congestion was harming their work or academic performance.
The average commuter time in Auckland was 26 minutes over 17 kilometres at 39kmh.
In Auckland nearly half the drivers questioned said they had been stuck in traffic for an hour or longer in the past three years and 27 percent said the congestion was so bad they had returned home.
The findings followed estimates that up to $1 billion was lost to Auckland's economy each year through congestion, the newspaper said.
Business Council for Sustainable Development chief executive Peter Neilsen said predicted population and freight growth in Auckland meant congestion would get worse without a plan to beat it.
On a "commuter-pain index" scale of 100, Auckland scored 28, compared with 99 each for Beijing and Mexico City, 97 for Johannesburg and 84 for Moscow. London and Paris each scored 36 on the index.
Driving to work in Auckland was more of hassle than in Los Angeles, New York, Melbourne and Stockholm.
Wellington drew level with Melbourne, reflecting a greater reliance on public transport, which left just 50 per cent of survey participants driving themselves to work or classes in single-occupancy cars, said the survey.
That compared with 76 per cent of Christchurch drivers, who had a "pain" rating of 22.
