India is again in the global scanner, and this time for vehicular traffic!
The renowned survey ‘TomTom Index 2019’ placed India at the top as the country with cities of very-heavy traffic among the 416 cities in 57 countries.
Four Indian cities – Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi were among the world’s top-10 congested cities.
In the top-10 global rankings, Bengaluru made it to 1st rank in traffic, followed by Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi in 4th, 5th and 8th positions, respectively.
Manila from the Philippines, Bogota from Colombia, Moscow from Russia, Lima from Peru, Istanbul from Turkey and Jakarta from Indonesia were among others in the top-10.
Congestion Levels Alarming!
The 2019 congestion levels, measured as extra time stuck in traffic, in Bengaluru were at 71%, followed by Mumbai (65%), Pune (59%) and New Delhi (56%).
As the survey found, city drivers in Bengaluru spend at least a 71% extra travel time stuck in traffic. When it’s peak hours, the people in the city spend 243 hours – 10 days, 3 hours in traffic every year.
Whereas, Mumbaikars spend extra 209 hours – 8 days, 17 hours in traffic every year, during peak hours.
In case of Pune, driving in peak hours consume an extra travel time of 193 hours – 8 days, 1 hour in traffic every year.
New Delhiites spend 190 hours, i.e., 7 days, 22 hours in traffic, every year. The capital city recorded its highest congestion levels at 81% on October 23, 2019 and the lowest at 6% on March 21, 2019.
However, New Delhi has shown a 2% improvement in its latest position compared to that in the TomTom Index 2018.
Overall, the traffic congestion has gone up globally in the last decade, with 239 cities (57%) in the new Traffic Index report reporting rise during 2018-19 and only 63 reported measurable decline.
This significant rise in congestion levels is costing billions expenditure for economies across the world.
