It’s hardly ever a smooth ride.

For those of us commuting into our workplaces in the city centres, stop-starting our way to and from work is part of the daily grind as we battle our way along congested roads.

New figures from satellite navigation company TomTom’s Traffic index reveal that British commuters are spending nine working days a year stuck in traffic, and that traffic jams in 11 out of 17 of Britain’s biggest cities have got worse in the past year.

Last year, roads in the Bradford and Leeds area were the most congested in England, with 28 per cent being regularly congested – slightly more than London.

A year on, Bradford and Leeds have now slipped to sixth place in the ranking of congested cities, but their place in the top ten indicates room for some improvement.

According to the latest figures, on average, travel times in Bradford and Leeds were 26 per cent longer than they would be uncongested.

During the evening rush hour, travel times were 56 per cent longer than in free-flowing traffic. Drivers face a delay of 31 minutes for every hour they drive in peak periods and drivers with a 30-minute commute waste 78 hours a year stuck in traffic jams.

The worst days of the week for traffic congestion are Tuesday mornings and Friday evenings.

Paul Watters, head of roads policy for the AA, says traffic is hard to predict and he believes there are a number of causes of congestion. Increasing restrictions in urban areas such as traffic light adjustments and greater road delays due to bus priority lanes and pedestrianisation could be contributory to the problem.

Generally, he says, congestion in cities isn’t a surprise, but it could be improved.

“The daily grind should not always be as bad as it is. There are a lot of things we can do to make it better.”

A TomTom spokesman says: “It’s encouraging to see that traffic conditions in the Leeds-Bradford area have improved slightly since our last report in April.

“Leeds-Bradford has dropped from fourth to sixth in the league table of most snarled-up cities in the UK, with congestion down nearly one percentage point.

“Rush-hour congestion is improved as well, with morning journeys now taking 48 per cent longer than free-flow compared with 54 per cent in our last report. Evening rush hour delays are down from 59 per cent slower to 56 per cent”.

In terms of easing congestion, Bradford could benefit from a number of improvements through the Transport Fund.

The removal of the £300,000 car share lane intended to ease congestion on Tong Street, which was found to contribute to commuters’ congestion woes, has also led to the road becoming more free-flowing, particularly at peak times.

Joe Grint, Bradford Council’s principal engineer for transportation and planning, believes the introduction of the managed motorway may have had an impact on reducing congestion in the city.

“It would appear that will have been a significant improvement and we are continuing to try and promote car sharing and cycling. It is early days yet, but we are starting to see the change,” says Joe.

He says more people are now getting on their bikes. “There is a lot going on, but there is still a lot for us to do.”

Joe says the best solution to easing congestion is encouraging people to look at other options for travelling. “The best answer to congestion is to encourage people not to use their cars where that is possible.”

He suggests people explore other options, such as taking the bus or walking to work one day a week, which, he says, would help reduce traffic to the levels experienced during school holidays.

Councillor Val Slater, Bradford Council’s executive member for transport, says: “I think it is pleasing to see nationally they are recognising there has been a reduction in congestion across Leeds and Bradford.

“Obviously, there is more that can be done, but I am pleased to see the results of this survey.

“Traffic congestion and connectivity across the city is important to us and we are taking a number of measures to make things easier for people to get around, to get to work, places of learning, and to get to leisure opportunities.”