The report indicates that London, the capital of the UK, earned the distinction of being the world’s slowest city to navigate through in 2023, with an average speed of 14 kmph during rush hour. Bengaluru and Pune, two Indian cities, also featured prominently on the list of cities grappling with the most challenging traffic, according to the TomTom report from the Amsterdam-based location technology specialist.
The TomTom Traffic Index meticulously assessed 387 cities across 55 countries on six continents, taking into account factors such as average travel time, fuel costs, and CO2 emissions. The evaluation was grounded in data collected from over 600 million in-car navigation systems and smartphones.
TomTom calculated the average travel time per kilometer for each city, analyzing the data derived from the millions of kilometers covered throughout the entire network in the year 2023.
Bengaluru and Pune found themselves among the world’s ten worst traffic-hit cities in 2023, securing the sixth and seventh positions, respectively. According to the TomTom report, Bengaluru recorded an average travel time of 28 minutes and 10 seconds per 10 km, while Pune stood at 27 minutes and 50 seconds.
Bengaluru, often recognized as the IT capital of India, earned the second spot as the most congested city in 2023, trailing only behind Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Notably, September 27 was identified as the worst day to travel through Bengaluru last year, with an average travel time of 32 minutes for a 10 km journey.
In Pune, the sixth most congested city in 2023, September 8 stood out as the peak congestion day, taking approximately 34 minutes to cover a distance of 10 km.
The TomTom Traffic Index also highlighted Delhi (44) and Mumbai (52) among the cities affected by traffic congestion. Delhi’s average travel time for a 10 km journey in 2023 was 21 minutes and 40 seconds, while Mumbai recorded 21 minutes and 20 seconds.
London topped the list as the city most severely affected by traffic in 2023, with an average travel time of 37 minutes for a 10 km journey. Dublin and Toronto secured the second and third positions, with average travel times of 29 minutes 30 seconds and 29 minutes, respectively, for a 10 km distance.
The report also noted a decline in average speed across 228 out of 387 cities analyzed in the traffic index in 2023 compared to 2022. Furthermore, over 60% of the 351 cities where TomTom aggregated fuel prices reported an increase of 15% or more in the average fuel budget between 2021 and 2023.
