Kolkata surpasses Bengaluru as India's most congested city
What's the story
Kolkata has dethroned Bengaluru as India's most congested city in 2024, as per a traffic index by TomTom, a Dutch location technology specialist.
The report found that drivers in Kolkata required an average of 34 minutes and 33 seconds to travel a distance of 10km.
This is a marginal increase from last year, with travel times increasing by around 10 seconds.
Speed analysis
Average speeds and rankings
In terms of average speeds, Kolkata clocked in at 17.4km/h while Bengaluru was slightly faster at 17.6km/h.
After these two cities, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai were listed as the next most congested cities in India.
New Delhi ranked 10th, with an average travel time of just 23 minutes for a 10km journey.
Global congestion
Indian cities among slowest globally
On a global level, Colombia's Barranquilla led the list with the slowest average speed of 16.58km/h, with drivers taking 36 minutes to complete a 10km journey.
Notably, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Pune also made it to the top five slowest average speed cities in the world.
The report highlighted a worldwide trend of longer travel times, with 76% of the 500 cities studied showing a decline in average speeds since 2023.
Data collection
TomTom's methodology for assessing traffic congestion
The TomTom Traffic Index uses floating car data (FCD) to analyze historical travel times on certain roads and evaluate traffic data algorithms.
The company collects data from various sources to create traffic-related services, for its users and clients.
The report also found that travel times in each city are affected by quasi-static factors such as road infrastructure, and dynamic factors like traffic congestion and adverse weather conditions.