West Bengal’s Kolkata has overtaken Bengaluru to become India’s most congested city in 2024. This was revealed in a report on the latest traffic index, released by TomTom, a Dutch location technology specialist. The report indicates that drivers in Kolkata required an average of 34 minutes and 33 seconds to travel a distance of 10 kilometres, marking a 10-second increase from 2023. In comparison, Bengaluru recorded an average travel time of 34 minutes and 10 seconds for the same distance.
The average speed in Kolkata was noted at 17.4 km/h, slightly lower than Bengaluru’s 17.6 km/h. Following these cities, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai were listed among the most congested urban areas in India. Notably, New Delhi ranked tenth, with an average travel time of 23 minutes for a 10-kilometre journey.
On a global scale, Barranquilla in Colombia topped the list with the slowest average speed of 10.3 mph (approximately 16.6 km/h), taking 36 minutes to complete a 10-kilometre journey. Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Pune featured among the top five cities worldwide for the slowest average speeds. The report also highlighted a general trend of increasing travel times, with 76% of the 500 cities studied showing a decrease in average speeds compared to 2023.
About TomTom and Its Traffic Report: TomTom is a Dutch company specialising in location technology and consumer electronics, renowned for its mapping and navigation products. The TomTom Traffic Index is an annual report that analyses traffic congestion levels in cities worldwide. The index relies on floating car data (FCD), a method used to analyse historical travel times on specific roads and assess traffic data algorithms. TomTom gathers this data from multiple sources to develop traffic-related services for its users and clients. The report provides insights into traffic patterns, average speeds, and travel times, offering valuable information for urban planning and infrastructure development.
Here is what TomTom press release said: “In 2024, Barranquilla in Colombia was the city with the lowest average speed. The average speed over the year is 10.3 mph, which means that it takes almost 35 minutes on average to complete a simple 6-mile journey. Three Indian cities feature in the top 5 list of slowest cities. London, the first European city in the ranking, is in 5th position, with an average speed of 11.2 mph in the city. Yet the English capital is only 150th in the congestion ranking, which measures only the dynamic factors of slow speed.”
Here are some charts TomTom has released:
