Bengaluru stands as world's sixth slowest city in terms of traffic, slips from second place. Details

Bengaluru showed a slight improvement in global rankings of the world’s most congested cities by Amsterdam-based location technology specialist TomTom. In 2022, TomTom ranked Bengaluru as the second most congested city in the world and it now slipped to sixth position. However, Bengaluru remains India’s most congested city in terms of vehicular traffic.

Also Read - Bengaluru stands top in number of private vehicles on road, surpassing Delhi: Report

According to TomTom, the average time to cover 10 kilometers in Bengaluru in 2023 was roughly 28 minutes and 10 seconds. However, in 2022, the average time to cover the same distance was reported as 29 minutes and 9 seconds, which made Bengaluru the second slowest city in the globe. The average speed in Bengaluru stood at 18kmph, slower than any Indian city.

London remained top in the list of most congested cities globally with an average speed of 14kmph, which is not a very big difference from Bengaluru’s. Dublin (16kmph), Milan (17kmph), Lima(17kmph) and Toronto(18kmph) are slowest cities than Bengaluru, as per the report by TomTom.

Recently, Bengaluru also stood as an Indian city with the highest number of private vehicles, surpassing the national capital, New Delhi.

Bengaluru, infamous for its traffic jams, has roughly 23 lakh private cars in the city, contributing to its traffic. As per the report, close to 2000 new vehicles get registered in Bengaluru every day.

Speaking to reporters earlier, Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar said that it is a herculean task for the government to protect roads from damages with such a heavy number of vehicles. “These many vehicles plying on the roads damage them naturally. But the government will take it up as a challenge. Fixing the roads with white topping will give these roads the endurance of 30 to 40 years,” he said.

Bengaluru also suffers a loss of Rs19,725 crore per year due to traffic delays, congestion, stoppage of signals, time loss, fuel loss and related factors, according to research conducted by noted traffic and mobility expert MN Sreehari and his team.