Bukit Timah residents face the worst drive to and from work in the city centre, a survey has found.



Drivers who leave for work between 7am and 9am spend an average of 35 minutes on congested roads, double the time it takes when the roads are clear.



"It's exactly true, it's really really congested," said Bukit Timah resident Marlene Teo, 36, a dentist. "I work in town so I have to leave earlier for work and try to come back early around 6pm to beat the traffic."



Residents like her blame the slow drive on extensive construction work and a concentration of schools in the area.




TomTom, the world's leading provider of in-car location and navigation products and services, today released its second study on travel times to and from 15 Singapore suburbs during peak-hour traffic.



Bukit Timah topped the charts as the overall worst suburb for the peak-hour commute, replacing Clementi and Tampines, which took "line honors" for both morning and afternoon peak-hour commutes, in TomTom's first study two years ago.



In a comparison of peak and off-peak travel times, Bukit Timah recorded a 111 per cent increase in travel times in the mornings and a 97 per cent increase in evening travel times*.



In the latest study this year, Clementi featured as the 2nd worst suburb for the morning commute, with a 97 per cent increase in travel time during peak-hours compared to free flow traffic, extending its position as one of Singapore's most congested suburbs during peak-hour since the pioneer study was published in 2010.



It was ranked as the 3rd worst suburb for evening commute with a 93 per cent increase in travel time.



Two years ago, Tampines ranked the worst for morning commute, but has improved this year to rank 10th worst for morning commute.



The eastern suburb, previously ranked the best for evening commute, has now been relegated to the 6th worst for evening commute in the latest study. The drop in ranking for evening commute could be due to a variety of factors such as changing driving patterns and road developments in the area.





Source: http://www.straitsti...survey-20131012