According to the TomTom Traffic Index 2025 (data for 2024), Bucharest ranks 3rd in Europe and 22nd in the world for traffic congestion. The average travel speed in the city is 13.3 km/h, and a driver loses an average of 171 hours a year because of traffic – the equivalent of 7 days and 3 hours.
According to the technical and economic indicators approved by Government Decision H.G. 930/2016, M6 Metro Line will have a transport capacity of 50,000 passengers per hour, in each direction. A study published in Nature Cities (2025) confirms that metro systems significantly reduce car use in European cities. Based on the experience of similar projects, between 15 and 25 out of every 100 passengers on a new metro line are former drivers who choose to leave the car at home — which, for M6 Metro Line, could mean thousands of fewer vehicles every day on the capital’s northern corridor.
On saturated arteries, a reduction of 15–20% in traffic volume increases the average travel speed by 20–35% for everyone — including those who continue to use the car. (Transportation Research Board – Highway Capacity Manual, 7th Edition, 2022). Thus, on congested roads, a 15-20% reduction in traffic volume increases the average journey speed by 20-35% for all traffic participants – including those who continue to use their cars. (Transportation Research Board – Highway Capacity Manual, 7th Edition, 2022).
European precedents confirm this trend: following the opening of the M2 metro line in Warsaw (2015), passenger numbers on parallel routes decreased significantly, according to Warsaw Metro. Cities with extensive metro networks, such as Vienna and Stockholm, consistently record some of the lowest congestion levels in Europe.
Less stress in traffic is not a slogan. It is a mathematical consequence of M6 Metro Line.
Sources: TomTom Traffic Index 2025 – Bucharest | GD 930/2016 – Technical and economic indicators, Metro Line 6 | Nature Cities (2025) – Prieto-Curiel et al., modal shift metro | Transportation Research Board – HCM 7th Ed. (2022) | Warsaw Metro – M2 Line
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