IBM released its 4th annual Global Commuter Pain survey yesterday. The study surveyed 8,042 commuters in 20 cities worldwide, regarding commuting habits, ranking the emotional and economic toll of commuting in each of the cities, with higher scores indicating worse conditions.
It found that drivers throughout the world reported more stress and frustration with their commute compared to last year. Commuters in many places are opting for public transport instead of driving and 41% of those surveyed said stress levels would decrease with improvement in public transport options. If traffic congestion did not consume so much time, 56% of respondents said they would spend more time with family and friends, 48% would exercise more and 29% would sleep more.
The index suggests a big disparity in the pain of the daily commute, with Mexico City at a score of 108, outstripping all other cities surveyed and Montreal at 21, reporting the lowest pain level.
Australian cities are not surveyed, otherwise Sydney and Melbourne would probably feature quite high on the list.
| City | Commuter Pain Index |
| Mexico City | 108 |
| Shenzhen | 95 |
| Beijing | 95 |
| Nairobi | 88 |
| Johannesburg | 83 |
| Bangalore | 75 |
| New Delhi | 72 |
| Moscow | 65 |
| Milan | 53 |
| Singapore | 44 |
| Buenos Aires | 42 |
| Los Angeles | 34 |
| Paris | 31 |
| Madrid | 28 |
| New York | 28 |
| Toronto | 27 |
| Stockholm | 26 |
| Chicago | 25 |
| London | 23 |
| Montreal | 21 |
