Preston and Lincoln out on top as ‘least frustrating’ places for commuters – survey

Preston and Lincoln have been jointly named the ‘least frustrating’ places for commuters to drive through in a recent survey.

With Lincoln having the fewest road delays in the UK – with 19.4 seconds lost per vehicle to mile – it scored highly among commuters, while Preston’s road quality pushed it into joint first place with less than a quarter of its road surfaces being in poor condition.

Low parking and fuel costs also contributed to the popularity of both places among commuters. In Preston, fees to park came out at an average of £7.15 for an eight-hour work day, while petrol stood at an average of 140.5p a litre and diesel 146.8p a litre.

The survey of 2,000 UK adults by Go Compare ranked 109 places across the UK based on a weighted index which took into account factors such as fuel costs, road health, delays and parking costs with each getting a score out of 10.

Milton Keynes came next in the rankings but had slightly higher levels of road health compared with Preston and Lincoln. Alongside this the Buckinghamshire city has average parking costs of £9.75 for an eight-hour stay, while its average road delays are shorter than those in Preston. However, it dropped down the list for its higher fuel costs of 145.9p a litre for petrol and 150.2p for diesel which are both above the national average.

Darlington, which is next in the ratings, has improved levels of road health compared to Preston and Lincoln but is held back by higher road delays with drivers 31.1 seconds per vehicle mile spent in traffic. Prices for petrol and diesel are both higher than in Lincoln and Preston, too.