Rush hour standstill times increase

City dwellers fed up with remaining stationary in rush hour traffic won't be pleased to hear that the amount of time people spend in such queues has gone up by nearly 11 per cent in the past two years.

New research by Citroen has revealed that inner city motorists remain stationary for up to half of their morning rush hour journey - an increase of 10.9 per cent.

The company is using the research to highlight the environmental and financial benefits of its 'Stop & Start' technology, currently available on the C2 and C3 superminis.

The system 'intelligently' turns off the car's engine when it is stationary, showing a 27 per cent fuel saving in urban driving conditions (according to independent tests).

Citroen's research covered congestion in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Norwich and Manchester, finding that commuters would be stationary for 25 minutes - 42 per cent of the time - in an average one hour journey, in which they travelled just 12.9 miles.

London motorists were found to be travelling twice as many miles as in 2006 - yet were stationary for around five minutes longer. Motorists in Cardiff spent the longest time stationary, while covering the biggest distance of all cities assessed.