Three of the world’s 10 slowest cities in terms of traffic speeds are in India. The 2024 TomTom Traffic Index has put Kolkata, Bengaluru and Pune among the top five slowest cities in the world.
After Barranquilla in Colombia, Kolkata was the second most congested city in the world in 2024, and the most congested in Asia, followed by Garden City Bengaluru slipped to the second spot, Pune rounded up the top three. Last year, Bengaluru was India’s most congested city.
Surprisingly Delhi was ranked much lower this time. It ranked 122 in the list. Last year, Delhi was ranked 44th in the world.
According to the latest survey by the Netherlands-based location technology firm TomTom on traffic and congestion on roads, drivers in the city spent an average of 34 minutes and 33 seconds to travel a distance of 10 km. The percentage of congestion is 32. Kolkata was followed closely by Bengaluru, where drivers spent 34 minutes and 10 seconds to cover 10 km. The level of congestion is 38 percent here.
Pune finished third with a travel time of 33 minutes and 22 seconds for the same distance, leaving India with three cities in the global top five. The level of congestion here is 32.
The report says drivers wasted 117 hours in a year in traffic in Kolkata, 110 hours in Bengaluru and 108 hours in Pune due to traffic congestion.
The TomTom, annually evaluates traffic conditions in major cities worldwide, and this year’s report has placed Kolkata, Bengaluru and Pune among the worst for traffic flow. The differences in travel times (or average speeds) across cities stem from a combination of static and dynamic factors that significantly influence traffic flow and overall driving conditions.
Surprisingly, New Delhi ranked much lower, with an average travel time of 23 minutes for 10 km. Delhi was ranked as the 44th most congested city centre among 387 around the world in 2023 survey.
Till March 31, 2023, Delhi had 79.5 lakh vehicles, of which 20.7 lakh were private cars. As per Delhi Statistical Handbook 2023, the total number of vehicles registered in the capital stood at 1.2 crore, of which 33.8 lakh were private cars.
Hyderabad (31.5 minutes) was the other Indian city in the top 20 globally, taking the 18th spot.
In Asia, Chennai was ranked 31 spot with an average travel time of 301 minutes for 10 km while Mumbai retained 39 spot with an average travel time of 28 minutes for 10 km. Ahmedabad was ranked 43 with an average time travel of 29 minutes for the same. Ernakulam is also in the list at 50 spot with an average travel time of 28 minutes.
The Tom Tom traffic index revealed that Barranquilla in Colombia ranked as the city with the lowest average speed. Drivers in Barranquilla traveled at an average speed of 10.3 mph, taking 36 minutes to complete a 10 km journey.
Globally, London the first European city retained its spot at 5th position as the most congested city, with an average speed of 14 km/h. Other major cities like Dublin (16 km/h), Milan (17 km/h), Lima (17 km/h), and Toronto (18 km/h) were also reported to have slower average speeds than three cities Kolkata Bengaluru and Pune underscoring the widespread issue of urban traffic congestion.
In Asia, Kyoto, Japan and Davao City, Philippines also figured in the top 10. The leading French city in the list is Bordeaux (24th), where it takes 31 minutes and 8 seconds to cover 10 km, while Paris (45th), it takes 28 minutes and 53 seconds.Other indicators measure the level of congestion in a city. Mexico City has a record congestion rate of 52%. This means that on all routes surveyed throughout the year on the entire road network, journey times are 52% longer than they would be when traffic is free-flowing in the city. Mexico City is followed by Bangkok with a congestion rate of 50%. In Europe, Bucharest has a congestion rate of 48% to put it in fifth place while Dublin is in 10th position and Los Angeles in 20th).
Finally, in terms of lost time, Lima, Peru, and Dublin, Ireland, were the places where motorists wasted the most time in congestion, with no less than 155 hours spent in traffic jams, on a typical 10-kilometer journey, made every working day in the morning and evening rush hours.
By comparison, drivers in New York lose an average of 98 hours per year in rush hour traffic, in Paris 101 hours, Tokyo 82 hours, in Rio de Janeiro 78, Sydney 75 and Hong Kong 71 hours.
The TomTom Traffic Index 2024 covers a total of 500 cities in 62 countries. The data comes from over 600 million connected devices, starting with in-car navigation systems and smartphones using TomTom applications.
