Bengaluru tops chart as world’s most traffic congested city: TomTom traffic index

In a setback to India, Bengaluru ranked the first among the world’s most traffic-congested cities, according to the report by the TomTom traffic index on Wednesday. The drivers in Bengaluru spend an average of 71 per cent extra travel time stuck in traffic. The ranking has been based on the overall daily congestion level, extra travel time and population over 800,000.

The report detailed the traffic situation in 416 cities in 57 countries. Three other cities Mumbai, Delhi and Pune also ranked in the list of the top ten most congested cities worldwide.

After Bengaluru, next in the global rankings are Philippine capital, Manila (71%); Bogota in Colombia (68%); Mumbai (65%); Pune (59%), Moscow in Russia (59%); Lima in Peru (57%); New Delhi (56%); Istanbul in Turkey (55%) and Jakarta in Indonesia (53%).

Greater Moscow takes the lead in Europe (59%) with Istanbul (55%) coming a close second. Kyiv (53%), Bucharest (52%), and Saint Petersburg (49%) make up the rest of the top five. Paris (39%), Rome (38%) and London (38%) ranked in at 14th, 15th and 17th respectively.

In the US, the top five most congested cities are Los Angeles (42%), New York (37%), San Francisco (36%), San Jose (33%) and Seattle (31%).

The TomTom Traffic Index report allows visitors to explore the traffic situation in their own city – with live traffic information helping them to make better travel decisions.

Traffic congestion has increased globally during the last decade, and the 239 cities (57%) TomTom included in the new Traffic Index report had increased congestion levels between 2018 and 2019, with only 63 cities showing measurable decreases. This global increase in congestion, despite being an indicator of a strong economy, is understood to cost economies billions.

Ralf-Peter Schäfer, TomTom’s VP of Traffic Information, said, “Globally, there’s a long road to travel until congestion levels are brought under control. In time, the rise of autonomous vehicles and car-sharing services will help alleviate congestion, but planners and policymakers can’t afford to sit and wait. They need to use all the tools available to them to analyze traffic levels and impacts, so they can make critical infrastructure decisions. And drivers have a role to play too. Small changes in driving behaviours can make a huge difference.”

Analyzing real-time incidents and congestion to predict traffic before it happens, TomTom’s Real-Time Traffic makes TomTom navigation software more accurate with enhanced route calculations and accurate estimated times of arrival (ETA). That’s why TomTom is the market leader, with its traffic technology in millions of cars on the road around the world. TomTom Traffic knows the road ahead, saving time, fuel and stress for drivers, fleet and logistics providers, on-demand services (ride-hailing, food delivery), and traffic management services.

And the location technology specialist’s work on the future of driving – from high definition maps for autonomous vehicles to efficient electric vehicle routing and charging – means that carmakers, technology companies, road authorities and governments already have the tools to make the roads less congested.

People can find out more about the TomTom Traffic Index and discover where their home city ranks at tomtom.com/TrafficIndex. There’s also helpful advice on beating traffic congestion.