North West

How busy are roads in Manchester?

Useful summaries from 342 official DfT count locations. Figures are historical annual estimates, not live traffic.

Explore on the mapLatest available year: 2025
Typical daily traffic8,245motor vehicles at a count point
Major-road median16,404motor vehicles / average day
Minor-road median2,346sampled locations only
Latest row counted58%other latest rows are estimated
Understanding the numbers

Traffic varies sharply by road type

The typical major-road point in Manchester carries 16,404 motor vehicles on an average day, compared with 2,346 at sampled minor-road locations.

Minor-road coverage is selective, so quieter residential streets may not have their own count point. Use the map to see the exact measured or estimated location rather than treating this as a street-by-street census.

Combined vehicle composition

Cars
82.9%
Vans / LGVs
12.7%
HGVs
2.7%
Buses
1.3%
Motorcycles
0.4%
Cycles
1.2%
Percentages combine the latest motor-vehicle estimates at available count points. Pedal cycles are shown separately by DfT.

Busiest available links in Manchester

RoadAverage daily motor vehiclesYearMethod
M56 179,6342025Counted
M56 156,0652025Counted
M60 143,9012025Counted
M56 142,2902025Counted
M56 138,8992025Counted

Quietest available measured or estimated links

RoadAverage daily motor vehiclesYearMethod
A6042 02025Estimated
U 492019Counted
U 532019Counted
U 582008Counted
U 642008Counted