Bengaluru, 3 Feb

Bengaluru commuters are currently relieved as  City witnesses a slight improvement in traffic congestion, moving from the second most congested city in 2022 to the sixth in 2023, according to the TomTom Traffic Index. The average travel time for a 10 km drive used to take 30 minutes in 2022 and this year the travel time reduced to 28 minutes which suggests that the average time it took to travel that distance has decreased by one minute, even though the congestion level remains at 63 per cent. The overall time spent in the year 2023 was one hour and 44 minutes, which is less than 2022.

The report highlights the impact of rush hour, with an additional 15 and 19 minutes spent in morning and evening commutes, respectively. Fridays between 6 pm and 7 pm emerged as the "worst rush hour," with an average travel time of 36 minutes for covering a distance of 10 km. Generally, peak congestion occurs between 6 pm and 8 pm on weekdays. While there is progress, the challenges still remain. According to the index data the average Bengaluru driver spends almost 132 hours stuck in traffic annually, with an average speed of only 18 km/hr.The improvement in the traffic movability can be attributed to various factors, including infrastructure development, increased use of public transport, and work-from-home policies. However, continued efforts are needed to further decongest the City and improve the lives of its commuters. Extended weekend travel plans saw travel time spike to 33 minutes for a 10 km stretch, particularly on the Outer Ring Road which is overwhelmed by tech park vehicles.

Bengaluru, Pune, New Delhi and Mumbai were the cities which had the most slow-moving traffic in 2023 according to the index reports. Bengaluru, which ranked second in the list, had improved itself by moving to the sixth rank, followed by Pune, which ranked seventh. The top five most traffic-congested cities are London, Dublin, Toronto, Milan and Lima, respectively. This makes Bengaluru and Pune the only two Indian cities to make it to the top 10 in the list. New Delhi had taken the 44th place and Mumbai had taken the 54th place. Salar News