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Car finance ›
Delivery Disruptions
Updated: Thursday, 23 November 2023
The number of people ordering packages to their homes has skyrocketed in recent years, with over 5 billion parcels delivered to our doors in 2022 alone. Cars and vans are the most common means for delivery drivers to get around.
As well as van finance and petrol costs, have to contend with traffic, but which areas in England are the most problematic for delivery drivers? We’ve analysed the data to find the worst and best places to be a delivery driver in England.
To determine which areas in England are the worst to be a delivery driver in, we have compiled a range of government data, including the average speed and delay at link roads (a road which links two or more major roads together) and the average daily traffic flow. We have normalised this data to give each local authority a score from 0-10.
Worst areas in England to be a delivery driver
With a score of 0.57/10, Hounslow is the worst area in England to be a delivery driver.
- Hounslow, London: overall score of 0.57/10
With a score of 0.57/10, the London district of Hounslow is revealed as the worst area in England to be a delivery driver. Hounslow’s daily traffic flow averaged over 8,800, higher than any other location in this top three. In addition, this area had a delay time of almost 30 seconds per vehicle per mile, contributing to its position on the ranking.
- West Northamptonshire, East Midlands: overall score of 0.64/10
With a score of 0.64/10, West Northamptonshire has the second-worst overall score of any area on this ranking. This is largely due to an average road speed of 33.70mph and an average road delay of almost 65 seconds per vehicle per mile. This is longer than any other area on this list.
- Hillingdon, London: overall score of 0.96/10
The London borough of Hillingdon had an average traffic flow of 8,670. Hillingdon’s traffic flow, paired with an average road speed of 43.88mph and road delay averaging just over 20 seconds per vehicle per mile, has resulted in an overall score of 0.96/10.
Best areas in England to be a delivery driver
Telford and Wrekin the best traffic conditions of any English area for delivery drivers, scoring 9.29/10.
- Telford and Wrekin, West Midlands: overall score of 9.29/10
Telford and Wrekin is the best area in England to be a delivery driver according to our study. Of the factors contributing to this area’s first-place entry, short road delays and the fast speed at link roads helped earn it the top spot. The West Midlands area averages 2.62 seconds per vehicle per mile and 67.21mph, respectively.
- Harrow, London: overall score of 9.15/10
Harrow is the second-best place to be a delivery driver, with an overall score of 9.15/10. This London borough has desirable scores across the board, including a delay time of 3.40 seconds per vehicle per mile and an average daily traffic flow of just over 3600.
- Blackburn with Darwen, North West: overall score of 9.11/10
Completing this list of the top three best areas in England to be a delivery driver is Blackburn with Darwen. With an overall score of 9.11/10, this North Western borough has an average speed of 65.12mph on link roads and an average delay of 4.16 seconds per vehicle per mile.
Areas in England with the lowest average link road speed
Wolverhampton has an average speed of 24.3mph at link roads, lower than any other area in England.
As well as finding out the worst areas to be a delivery driver, we have broken each factor down into its ranking. The following list reveals which English locations have the lowest average speed at link roads (a road which links two or more major roads together).
- Wolverhampton, West Midlands: 24.3mph
Wolverhampton has a slower average road speed for link roads than any other area in England. As of 2022, this city has an average speed of 24.3mph at link roads, which means that, based on speed alone, delivery drivers will often take longer to get to their destination.
- Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire and The Humber: 33.2mph
Kingston upon Hull is revealed as having the second lowest average speed at link roads. From 20mph to over 60mph, the average speed varies across the A63 depending on the road link. When taking this city’s link roads into account, Kingston upon Hull has an average speed of 33.2mph.
- West Northamptonshire, East Midlands: 33.7mph
West Northamptonshire has the third longest travel time of all areas in England where average speed on link roads is considered. This unitary authority area has an average speed of 33.7mph on link roads.
Areas in England with the longest link road delays
West Northamptonshire is responsible for the longest link road delays in England, averaging 64.9 seconds per vehicle per mile.
A whole range of factors can cause road congestion, and this can lead to delays in travel time. The following list reveals the areas in England with the most prolonged link road delays.
- West Northamptonshire, East Midlands: 64.9 seconds per vehicle per mile
West Northamptonshire is revealed as the area in England with the longest delays at link roads. With an average delay time of 64.9 seconds per vehicle per mile, this area sees higher average traffic at link roads than any other location studied.
- Wolverhampton, West Midlands: 58.3 seconds per vehicle per mile
The next entry on this list is Wolverhampton, which saw an average delay of 58.3 seconds per vehicle per mile during 2022. With around five seconds per vehicle per mile separating this area and West Northamptonshire, Wolverhampton has the second longest road delay at link roads.
- Sefton, North West: 53.9 seconds per vehicle per mile
Of all the roads in Sefton, the A5036 experiences the most extensive delays, with some road links averaging over 84 seconds per vehicle per mile. However, when all road link delays are considered, this village has an average delay of 53.9 seconds per vehicle per mile.
Areas in England with the biggest average daily traffic flow
Hounslow’s daily traffic flow averages over 8,800, which is bigger than any other area in England.
Each local authority’s average daily traffic flow is calculated by dividing the annual traffic by days of the year and road length. The list below shows areas in England with the most significant daily average traffic flow.
- Hounslow, London: 8,835 daily traffic flow
With a traffic flow of 8,835, Hounslow is revealed as the area in England with the highest daily traffic flow. As a delivery driver in this London borough, the data shows you will likely experience some congestion here.
- Hillingdon, London: 8,670 daily traffic flow
Hillingdon is the next entry on this list as it has the second most considerable daily traffic flow. Hillingdon’s daily traffic flow averages 8,670 – far exceeding England’s 4,047 average as of 2022.
- Thurrock, East of England: 7,966 daily traffic flow
The third most extensive daily average traffic flow belongs to the English borough of Thurrock. With a daily traffic flow of almost 8,000, delivery drivers in this area will likely have to cope with many other road users.
Methodology
This data is accurate as of October 2023.
The volume of parcels being delivered was taken from Parcel and Postal Technology International.
We used GOV.UK to find the following data for each UK local authority as of 2022: the average speed at link level and average delay at link level. This data was unavailable for cities in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland and only accounts for link roads, rather than all roads, as these were the only figures available.
We added the average speed of each road before dividing this total by the number of road links to find each location’s overall average speed. This calculation was repeated for the average delay.
We used GOV.UK to find the motor vehicle flow for each UK local authority as of 2022. This data was unavailable for cities in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. This was calculated by dividing the annual traffic by days of the year and road length, as opposed to using link road data.
Finally, we used the factors (average speed, average delay, and motor vehicle flow) and normalised each element out of 10 before taking an average of those scores to give each local authority an overall score.
The number of people ordering packages to their homes has skyrocketed in recent years, with over 5 billion parcels delivered to our doors in 2022 alone. Cars and vans are the most common means for delivery drivers to get around.
As well as van finance and petrol costs, have to contend with traffic, but which areas in England are the most problematic for delivery drivers? We’ve analysed the data to find the worst and best places to be a delivery driver in England.
To determine which areas in England are the worst to be a delivery driver in, we have compiled a range of government data, including the average speed and delay at link roads (a road which links two or more major roads together) and the average daily traffic flow. We have normalised this data to give each local authority a score from 0-10.
Worst areas in England to be a delivery driver
With a score of 0.57/10, Hounslow is the worst area in England to be a delivery driver.
- Hounslow, London: overall score of 0.57/10
With a score of 0.57/10, the London district of Hounslow is revealed as the worst area in England to be a delivery driver. Hounslow’s daily traffic flow averaged over 8,800, higher than any other location in this top three. In addition, this area had a delay time of almost 30 seconds per vehicle per mile, contributing to its position on the ranking.
- West Northamptonshire, East Midlands: overall score of 0.64/10
With a score of 0.64/10, West Northamptonshire has the second-worst overall score of any area on this ranking. This is largely due to an average road speed of 33.70mph and an average road delay of almost 65 seconds per vehicle per mile. This is longer than any other area on this list.
- Hillingdon, London: overall score of 0.96/10
The London borough of Hillingdon had an average traffic flow of 8,670. Hillingdon’s traffic flow, paired with an average road speed of 43.88mph and road delay averaging just over 20 seconds per vehicle per mile, has resulted in an overall score of 0.96/10.
Best areas in England to be a delivery driver
Telford and Wrekin the best traffic conditions of any English area for delivery drivers, scoring 9.29/10.
- Telford and Wrekin, West Midlands: overall score of 9.29/10
Telford and Wrekin is the best area in England to be a delivery driver according to our study. Of the factors contributing to this area’s first-place entry, short road delays and the fast speed at link roads helped earn it the top spot. The West Midlands area averages 2.62 seconds per vehicle per mile and 67.21mph, respectively.
- Harrow, London: overall score of 9.15/10
Harrow is the second-best place to be a delivery driver, with an overall score of 9.15/10. This London borough has desirable scores across the board, including a delay time of 3.40 seconds per vehicle per mile and an average daily traffic flow of just over 3600.
- Blackburn with Darwen, North West: overall score of 9.11/10
Completing this list of the top three best areas in England to be a delivery driver is Blackburn with Darwen. With an overall score of 9.11/10, this North Western borough has an average speed of 65.12mph on link roads and an average delay of 4.16 seconds per vehicle per mile.
Areas in England with the lowest average link road speed
Wolverhampton has an average speed of 24.3mph at link roads, lower than any other area in England.
As well as finding out the worst areas to be a delivery driver, we have broken each factor down into its ranking. The following list reveals which English locations have the lowest average speed at link roads (a road which links two or more major roads together).
- Wolverhampton, West Midlands: 24.3mph
Wolverhampton has a slower average road speed for link roads than any other area in England. As of 2022, this city has an average speed of 24.3mph at link roads, which means that, based on speed alone, delivery drivers will often take longer to get to their destination.
- Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire and The Humber: 33.2mph
Kingston upon Hull is revealed as having the second lowest average speed at link roads. From 20mph to over 60mph, the average speed varies across the A63 depending on the road link. When taking this city’s link roads into account, Kingston upon Hull has an average speed of 33.2mph.
- West Northamptonshire, East Midlands: 33.7mph
West Northamptonshire has the third longest travel time of all areas in England where average speed on link roads is considered. This unitary authority area has an average speed of 33.7mph on link roads.
Areas in England with the longest link road delays
West Northamptonshire is responsible for the longest link road delays in England, averaging 64.9 seconds per vehicle per mile.
A whole range of factors can cause road congestion, and this can lead to delays in travel time. The following list reveals the areas in England with the most prolonged link road delays.
- West Northamptonshire, East Midlands: 64.9 seconds per vehicle per mile
West Northamptonshire is revealed as the area in England with the longest delays at link roads. With an average delay time of 64.9 seconds per vehicle per mile, this area sees higher average traffic at link roads than any other location studied.
- Wolverhampton, West Midlands: 58.3 seconds per vehicle per mile
The next entry on this list is Wolverhampton, which saw an average delay of 58.3 seconds per vehicle per mile during 2022. With around five seconds per vehicle per mile separating this area and West Northamptonshire, Wolverhampton has the second longest road delay at link roads.
- Sefton, North West: 53.9 seconds per vehicle per mile
Of all the roads in Sefton, the A5036 experiences the most extensive delays, with some road links averaging over 84 seconds per vehicle per mile. However, when all road link delays are considered, this village has an average delay of 53.9 seconds per vehicle per mile.
Areas in England with the biggest average daily traffic flow
Hounslow’s daily traffic flow averages over 8,800, which is bigger than any other area in England.
Each local authority’s average daily traffic flow is calculated by dividing the annual traffic by days of the year and road length. The list below shows areas in England with the most significant daily average traffic flow.
- Hounslow, London: 8,835 daily traffic flow
With a traffic flow of 8,835, Hounslow is revealed as the area in England with the highest daily traffic flow. As a delivery driver in this London borough, the data shows you will likely experience some congestion here.
- Hillingdon, London: 8,670 daily traffic flow
Hillingdon is the next entry on this list as it has the second most considerable daily traffic flow. Hillingdon’s daily traffic flow averages 8,670 – far exceeding England’s 4,047 average as of 2022.
- Thurrock, East of England: 7,966 daily traffic flow
The third most extensive daily average traffic flow belongs to the English borough of Thurrock. With a daily traffic flow of almost 8,000, delivery drivers in this area will likely have to cope with many other road users.
Methodology
This data is accurate as of October 2023.
The volume of parcels being delivered was taken from Parcel and Postal Technology International.
We used GOV.UK to find the following data for each UK local authority as of 2022: the average speed at link level and average delay at link level. This data was unavailable for cities in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland and only accounts for link roads, rather than all roads, as these were the only figures available.
We added the average speed of each road before dividing this total by the number of road links to find each location’s overall average speed. This calculation was repeated for the average delay.
We used GOV.UK to find the motor vehicle flow for each UK local authority as of 2022. This data was unavailable for cities in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. This was calculated by dividing the annual traffic by days of the year and road length, as opposed to using link road data.
Finally, we used the factors (average speed, average delay, and motor vehicle flow) and normalised each element out of 10 before taking an average of those scores to give each local authority an overall score.
For a better road ahead
Moneybarn is a member of the Finance and Leasing Association, the official trade organisation of the motor finance industry. The FLA promotes best practice in the motor finance industry for lending and leasing to consumers and businesses.
Moneybarn is the trading style of Moneybarn No. 1 Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 04496573, and Moneybarn Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 02766324. The registered address for these companies is: Athena House, Bedford Road, Petersfield, Hampshire, GU32 3LJ.
Moneybarn’s VAT registration number is 180 5559 52.
Moneybarn Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services reference No. 702781)
Moneybarn No. 1 Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services reference No. 702780)
