Kaliningrad appears to be the city where traffic jams take the shortest toll on daily life, according to a recent study conducted by Rabota.ru in collaboration with Sber Auto. The data shows a surprising proportion of residents in Kaliningrad manage to reach only light congestion, with about one in three participants reporting that their daily driving experience involves no more than a 15‑minute delay. This finding challenges common assumptions about urban mobility in smaller regional centers and suggests that local road networks, traffic management, and commute patterns may be unusually efficient for a city of its size in the Baltic region.
The picture shifts dramatically when the focus moves to Krasnodar, which set a new benchmark for prolonged congestion. Respondents from Krasnodar described daily traffic that can stretch up to two hours, signaling a stark contrast with other large cities. In the same survey, Moscow residents offered a different perspective: a relatively small share, six percent, reported hours of gridlock, while Krasnodar saw eleven percent of participants acknowledging similarly lengthy delays. This contrast underscores how geographic, infrastructural, and perhaps seasonal factors shape daily travel experiences across Russia’s metropolitan landscape.
Beyond merely counting minutes stuck on the road, the survey also sought to understand how drivers use the time spent in traffic. The majority of respondents, about 45 percent, choose to unwind by listening to music or chatting with companions, turning the car into a personal space for relaxation. Nearly a third, precisely 29 percent, tune into news updates to stay informed about national and global events, treating the commute as a window to the world rather than as wasted time. About 15 percent use that interval for learning, whether it be through podcasts, lectures, or audiobooks, effectively transforming a potentially idle period into a continuing education moment.
There were even more inventive and less conventional responses. A small but notable cohort, 6 percent, reported using traffic time to browse and compare products on online stores, turning the drive into a shopping session. Another 3 percent indicated that they conduct online meetings or negotiations via their smartphones while in traffic, illustrating the growing acceptance of mobile connectivity in everyday routines. The most unusual answer, offered by 1 percent of participants, involved dedicating the time to psychology and introspection practices, revealing a surprising depth in how people allocate mental energy during delays. In total, the survey paints a nuanced portrait of a population that rarely views a traffic pause as purely negative; instead, many people repurpose that interval for entertainment, learning, and practical tasks.
- “Driving” can be read in Viber.