Madrid's traffic landscape in 2024 is dominated by cars, with 41% of commuters choosing this mode of transport. Public transportation, including trains and buses, plays a significant role, with a combined usage of 23%.

Average Commute Times

The average commute involves 11.22 minutes of driving and 5.45 minutes of walking, covering a distance of 13.40 km.
  • Bus - Bus commuters spend about 20.56 minutes on the bus, with additional time walking and waiting, covering 11.01 km.
  • Car - Car users drive for approximately 25.79 minutes, with minimal walking, covering a distance of 20.39 km.
  • Train - Train commuters spend around 29.89 minutes on the train, with additional walking and waiting, covering 12.88 km.
  • Walking - Walking commutes average 18.43 minutes, covering a distance of 3.80 km.
Traffic Breakdown
Car
41%
Walking
15%
Train
14%
Bicycle
13%
Bus
9%
Home
5%
Motorcycle
4%
Seasonal Trends

Traffic congestion tends to increase during the summer months due to tourism. Winter sees a slight decrease in traffic as locals tend to stay indoors more.

Commuter Pain Points

High traffic congestion during peak hours leads to longer commute times. Limited parking availability in central areas adds to commuter stress.

Best Travel Times

Early mornings before 7 AM and late evenings after 8 PM are the best times to avoid traffic. Midday travel between 11 AM and 1 PM can also be less congested.

Event Impacts

Major events like football matches and festivals can significantly disrupt traffic patterns. Public transport is often crowded during these events, leading to delays.

Sustainability Efforts

Madrid is investing in expanding its bicycle lanes to promote eco-friendly commuting. The city is also enhancing its electric bus fleet to reduce emissions.

Ride-Sharing Impact

Ride-sharing services have helped reduce the number of private cars on the road. These services offer flexible commuting options, especially during off-peak hours.

Traffic Rankings

Madrid ranks 1st on the Traffic rankings in Spain. The Traffic Index for Spain combines user-contributed data on commute times, traffic dissatisfaction, CO2 emissions, and traffic system inefficiencies in Spain, to provide insights into overall traffic conditions.

Worst to BestUpdated: Dec, 2024

Traffic Data

The following traffic data has been gathered from 200 user contributions.
Overall average travel
Distance
8.3 miles
Walking
5.4 mins
Waiting
1.3 mins
Driving Car
11.2 mins
Bus / Trolley
2.1 mins
Bicycle
0.8 mins
Motorcycle
0.9 mins
Train
5.2 mins
Other
0.2 mins
Total:
27.2 mins
Average when primarily using Bus
Distance
6.8 miles
Walking
5.0 mins
Waiting
3.3 mins
Bus / Trolley
20.6 mins
Train
3.8 mins
Total:
32.6 mins
Average when primarily using Car
Distance
12.7 miles
Walking
1.9 mins
Driving Car
25.8 mins
Total:
27.7 mins
Average when primarily using Train
Distance
8.0 miles
Walking
8.2 mins
Waiting
5.2 mins
Bus / Trolley
0.5 mins
Train
29.9 mins
Other
1.1 mins
Total:
44.8 mins
Average when primarily using Walking
Distance
2.4 miles
Walking
18.4 mins
Waiting
1.3 mins
Driving Car
0.9 mins
Bus / Trolley
0.7 mins
Train
3.2 mins
Other
0.1 mins
Total:
25.0 mins
Madrid Traffic

"Key Takeaways"

Encouraging the use of public transport and bicycles could help reduce CO2 emissions.

Investments in infrastructure could alleviate traffic inefficiencies and improve commute times.

Key Indexes

Emissions

Madrid's CO2 emissions index is 3314.02, indicating a high level of emissions.

Efforts to reduce emissions could focus on increasing public transport usage.

Time

The average time index is 27.18, suggesting moderate commute times.

Improving traffic flow could reduce delays and improve efficiency.

Inefficiency

The inefficiency index stands at 119.55, highlighting areas for improvement in traffic management.

Targeted interventions could help streamline traffic and reduce inefficiencies.