10 Busiest Areas for Back-to-School Traffic in England

Schools closing for the summer can mean many different things for Brits, from making blissful family memories to desperately scrambling for childcare or plotting how to avoid the endless crowds.

It might seem like the school summer holidays will never end, but before you know it, it’ll be time for those doors to re-open. The first day back at school can certainly create stress and nerves, and not just for the children. The thought of term-time traffic is enough to give you the Sunday Scaries. It’s not only those doing the school run who are affected either, as the commuters who have enjoyed quieter journeys will soon have to fear gridlocked roads.

Back-to-school traffic is, unfortunately, inevitable all around England. However, in this blog post, we’ll reveal the areas it’s expected to hit the hardest this September.

To score each location out of 100 for congestion chaos, we first analysed the volume of last year’s online searches around traffic and Google Maps to help us predict how many drivers were on the road in each location. We then found the ratio of searches to the area’s population, total road length, and average journey time.

Of course, London came out on top, scoring 100/100, but what locations followed? Continue reading to find out the 10 urban agglomerations outside of the capital scoring the highest for school-run traffic and how to prepare for the busy roads.

10) Brighton (Score: 19.26/100)

Our research found that Brighton likely had the lowest number of drivers on the road in September 2023 from the 10 locations. With around 22,630 online searches around live traffic updates and Google Maps route planners, 622,480 residents and a total road length of 385.1 miles, the search volume was lowest per capita and road length.

However, a previous study found that Brighton had the most congested road in the country (the A2010) outside of London. So, although it falls at the bottom of our list, it’s still expected to have some of the worst traffic in the country come term time.

9) Leeds/Bradford (Score: 22.09/100)

The next most congested urban area is Leeds/Bradford, which ranks surprisingly low, considering the high population of almost 2 million. When looking at online searches related to traffic news and Google Maps in September 2023, we found Leeds/Bradford had the fourth highest amount.

However, the urban area has the highest mileage of roads for drivers to explore, other than London, giving drivers more space for the morning drop-off. Yet, traffic is still likely to increase as schools re-open, with the City Square being previously dubbed the worst point of congestion for drivers in Leeds.

8) Sheffield (Score: 22.21/100)

The Steel City comes in sixth place, only just scoring over Leeds/Bradford. Compared to the other areas listed, Sheffield has a fairly low population at around 745,000 and traffic-related online searches of 75,530. However, it’s how the number of online searches relates to the total road length (1,224.8 miles) that determines its low score.

These findings suggest traffic isn’t expected to be as high as the other areas in this ranking, with more mileage available to drivers. However, as traffic is still likely to peak, local drivers should try avoiding the A57, also known as the Sheffield Parkway, which is cited as the most traffic-clogged road in Sheffield.

7) Newcastle Upon Tyne (Score: 22.76/100)

In seventh place, Newcastle Upon Tyne has one of the lowest total road lengths (625.6 miles) and population (823,431) in this research. Although the area had the second lowest online searches of 41,800, in ratio to the roads and the population, it still brought the area’s score down.

According to reports, last September, the city council axed the Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) scheme, which saw several road closures in Fenham to create these zones. Although designed to reduce school traffic, unfortunately, it didn’t prompt people to start walking or cycling and, instead, worsened congestion in neighbouring streets.

6) Coventry (Score: 26.19/100)

In September 2023, Coventry had the lowest online searches for the terms we analysed around traffic and planning driving routes. However, as the city also has the least road mileage, it leaves less wiggle room for an increase in drivers taking the road. When looking at the searches per capita, Coventry reached fifth place, but the average travel time per 10km is still just 16 minutes, so the area’s congestion score remained fairly low.

However, locals will still see a rise in queues as schools re-open and may want to look at alternative routes. Recent research ranked the most congested roads in Coventry, dubbing the A45 westbound between A423 and A46 near Coventry (east) the worst — on average, vehicles were held up here by 79.5 seconds per mile in 2023.

5) Southampton/Portsmouth (Score: 27.57/100)

Across Southampton/Portsmouth, the population is around 950,000, with a total road length of 652.1 miles. However, as the online searches reached just over 50,000, it’s estimated that fewer drivers were on the roads in this urban agglomeration, especially in comparison to the number of residents.

More students may travel to school via bus, cycling or walking in Southampton/Portsmouth, with the average travel time also being the lowest out of the 10 locations.

Yet, traffic is still expected to increase as students return to school, and the A3035 was recently named the most traffic-clogged A road in Southampton, holding up vehicles by 181 seconds per mile!

4) Liverpool (Score: 44.7/100)

The biggest jump in score so far, Liverpool just misses out on the top three, with the online search total of 93,480 being fairly high for the total road length of 889.3 miles. However, the volume of online searches around traffic compared to the population (917,032) was the third-highest overall. The average travel time per 10km is also slightly high for Liverpudlians, reaching 23 minutes.

Our research suggests Liverpool will see a big increase in drivers for the school drop-off, with limited space on the roads causing traffic jams. In a Reddit post of local drivers citing the worst areas to drive, they named and shamed the Old Swan area, Walton Vale, and Smithdown Road.

3) Birmingham (Score: 53.1/100)

In September 2023, just over 206,000 online searches were conducted in Birmingham looking for live traffic updates and Google Maps route planners — the most searches of all areas outside of London. Although the city has a large population of 2.6 million people, the road mileage of 1601.6 doesn’t seem enough to cope with this number of potential drivers.

Drivers whose journeys usually involve the A457 Dudley Road/Spring Hill may wish to try and plan an alternative route, as it was recently named the most congested road in Birmingham, where drivers lose 2.3 minutes per mile! There have also been reports of heavy traffic on school-run roads in Kings Heath, where inconsiderate drivers ‘play bumper cars’, according to a resident.

2) Bristol (Score: 70.72/100)

Our findings suggested that in September 2023, a high number of Bristol residents were driving. Bristol had the second-highest search volume per capita, with around 112,500 searches conducted and a lower population of 707,000. The search volume was also especially high in relation to the total road length of 714.1 miles.

So, Bristol was likely highly congested due to the number of drivers in ratio to the area’s population and available roads. It’s also believed that Bristol locals lose 89 hours per year to rush hour traffic, second only to London out of all English cities!

1) Manchester (Score: 71.37/100)

In first place is Manchester, with it taking drivers 24 minutes on average per 10km. Our findings discovered Mancunians conducted 138,180 online searches in September last year monitoring traffic and looking for routes. When analysing the search volume per capita, the busy city is bottom of the list — with almost 2.8 million residents it’s the second-most populated area listed after London.

However, when comparing the ratio of searches to the total road length of 874.1 miles it topped the list when taking London out of the equation. This result suggests the available space is extremely limited to the number of drivers expected to be on the roads in September — causing traffic blockages.

Previous research revealing the worst roads in and around Manchester cited the M56 between junctions 3 and 2 as the most congested!

How to Prepare for Back-to-School Traffic

For those travelling in one of the mentioned areas when the schools re-open after the summer holidays, we’ve gathered some tips to hopefully help lessen the impact.

Allow for a longer journey

If you’re a commuter and have enjoyed a summer of shorter car trips, it’s easy to forget this is temporary or hope it will last forever. Yet, when school drop-offs return, your longer journeys will also increase. So, to avoid getting to work late, remember to give yourself more time to reach your destination.

Avoid rush hour

If possible, the best way to keep your journeys shorter is to leave before rush hour in the morning and after it in the evening. Of course, this step will depend on whether your schedule allows it without having to wait for an excessive amount of time for the school or your workplace to open.

However, look into whether there are any school breakfast clubs for children to attend before classes. Additionally, perhaps your work schedule can be adapted to avoid the worst of the traffic, or you would rather wait in a nearby cafe than sit in traffic.

Take Alternative routes

Although SatNavs often suggest the quickest route, they aren’t always up-to-date or in line with your needs. For example, your satnav or Google Maps might try to take you on the shortest but not the quietest route, which may be a better experience. In case it doesn’t detect high congestion, ensure you’re aware of alternative routes beforehand.

Plan ahead

If it’s the first time you’re taking a certain school run route, drive out before the first day of school. Becoming more familiar with the route before the queues emerge will hopefully take away some of the stress and allow you to plan for the journey time.

As well as preparing for the actual drive, get ready for the day the night before by packing bags, making lunches, and planning outfits. If you commence the drive early to avoid the crowds, you can still have a more relaxed morning.

Car-pool or public transport

Car-pooling is often a useful tactic for parents. While it may not avoid traffic, if it’s taken in turns with more children in the car, each parent only has to undergo it once or twice a week.

Even commuters without children could benefit from car-sharing with colleagues, taking turns to manage the traffic-filled driving to minimise stress. Alternatively, look into whether public transport would offer a more comfortable and time-efficient journey.

When students are old enough, parents can also encourage them to take public transport to school to reduce the number of cars on the road.

Safety first

It’s easy to let the stress and frustration of traffic get the better of you, but this can heighten the tension and even become dangerous.

Drivers wanting to complete their journey as soon as possible might make errors, such as running red lights or blindly overtaking. While it can be frustrating to get stuck behind a school bus, ensure you hang back to allow them space for drop-offs and don’t overtake without a clear view.

Parents should also ensure they follow the school’s drop-off rules, which may consist of using dedicated drop-off points and parking for a limited time to keep the traffic flow from becoming chaotic.

In general, as more children will be near roads, all drivers should be more vigilant when driving at school drop-off or pick-up times.

Nobody enjoys back-to-school traffic, and sometimes it may be unavoidable. However, drivers who are most affected can lessen the impact by anticipating the traffic and incorporating it into their routine.

Methodology

To help make our predictions, we’ve analysed the volume of online searches in England’s most populated urban agglomerations in September 2023 to help us estimate how many drivers were on the road for last year’s school return. We analysed search terms around traffic and Google Maps.

Additional data incorporated was from the Department for Transport’s Road Length Statistics and the TomTom United Kingdom Country Traffic Index.