[RahulNagaraj]

According to a report by TomTom, an Amsterdam-based location technology specialist, London was the 'slowest city to drive through' in the world in 2023. Drivers in the UK capital had an average speed of just 14 km/h in rush hour.



The result is from the latest TomTom Traffic Index 2023. The study evaluated 387 cities across 55 countries and six continents, taking into account average travel time, fuel costs and CO2 emissions. The result is also based on data from over 600 million in-car navigation systems and smartphones. As part of the study, TomTom calculated the average travel time per kilometre based on the millions of kilometres driven across the entirety of 2023.

The results showed that drivers in London, UK, spent an average time of 37 minutes and 20 seconds to cover 10 km. Second on the list was Dublin (Ireland), with Toronto (Canada) completing the top 3.

Two Indian cities were among the top 10, with Bengaluru coming in as the 6th slowest city to drive through in the world, followed closely by Pune in 7th position. Drivers in Bengaluru had an average travel time of 28 minutes and 10 seconds to cover 10 km, with an average speed of 18 km/h in rush hour. Similarly, Pune drivers had an average time of 27 minutes and 50 seconds to cover 10 km, with 19 km/h average speed in rush hour.

Other Indian cities included Delhi and Mumbai, positioned in 44th & 54th place, respectively. Delhi had an average 10 km travel time of 21 min 40 seconds, while Mumbai's average travel time was 21 min 20 sec for the same 10 km distance.

Source: TomTom

Link to Team-BHP news

[Hayek]

Am amazed Bombay is not in the list. Probably because average times get skewed by the few relatively fast roads like the Sea Link, Eastern Freeway and Eastern Express Highway.

My overall average speed tends to be just over 20 kmph - but traveling to work often takes 45 minutes for 12 km (Parel to BKC by the connector) and traveling East - West (eg Parel to Worli) could take 45 minutes for 5 km.

Edit - just checked the link. Bombay wins a top 7 place among metro areas. And Bangalore is 3rd. Amazingly, our metro area average speeds are lower than the city centre average speeds.Because the super slow roads like ORR and Western Express are probably treated as metro area roads rather than as city centre roads

[ValarMorghulis]

Heyy, I see Bengaluru improving year on year , and Pune right behind Bengaluru.

Can we now stop advertising the apocalyptical Bengaluru traffic when Pune (like other Indian cities) is right behind?

[shobhit.shri]

The bigger problem is that, unlike other places on the list, our cities don't have the alternative to "drive through"!

[Gaur]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Am amazed Bombay is not in the list. Probably because average times get skewed by the few relatively fast roads like the Sea Link, Eastern Freeway and Eastern Express Highway.

My overall average speed tends to be just over 20 kmph - but traveling to work often takes 45 minutes for 12 km (Parel to BKC by the connector) and traveling East - West (eg Parel to Worli) could take 45 minutes for 5 km.

Good point, apart from the few places you mentioned the rest of the city is a traffic nightmare, saying this from a personal experience having stayed in Bangalore for ~8 years (untill2022) and currently shuttling between Mumbai-Pune.

The 5kms travel from our home to dad's office (malad west-malad east) can take 30mins to 1hr depending on how lucky/unlucky you are.
Home to airport ~17kms can take anywhere between 1 to 2hrs, again depending on how bad the traffic is, for context early mornings this doesn't take more then 25mins.

[fastestindian]

Almost all Indian tier 1 cities and a healthy proportion of tier 2s will likely make it to this list in the next decade or so.
Indians' love for *cough* "road presence" (read SUVs) coupled with poor driving discipline is going to make this even worse. It's a matter of when, not if.

[Hatari]

The public transport system is so good in London, one doesnt need to drive, quite irrelevant this stat.
The Underground is a dream.

[ramki.grandhi]

Interesting, how did they calculate average time for 10 kms? Do they include night time's no traffic situations as well to bring down average?

Reason for this ask is, I've been living in Bangalore for last 20 years, and never seen or heard anyone covering 10kms in 28 minutes in the city limits, except airport transfers. Honestly, if I can cover 10kms in 28 mins, I can define that journey as a dream coming true.

[PreludeSH]

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

Interesting, how did they calculate average time for 10 kms? Do they include night time's no traffic situations as well to bring down average?

Reason for this ask is, I've been living in Bangalore for last 20 years, and never seen or heard anyone covering 10kms in 28 minutes in the city limits, except airport transfers. Honestly, if I can cover 10kms in 28 mins, I can define that journey as a dream coming true.

Its an average. Other than some parts which are always clogged not every road experiences the same. Also, I think the length of roads that get clogged are much lesser than the total road length in the city.

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

According to a report by TomTom, an Amsterdam-based location technology specialist, London was the 'slowest city to drive through' in the world in 2023. Drivers in the UK capital had an average speed of just 14 km/h in rush hour.

I absolutely agree with this. Yesterday I spent more than 5 hours driving my Defender in central London helping a friend move to another apartment and today my left leg is aching due to the constant use of the clutch. It was a Sunday, cannot imagine what will happen on week days! I have vowed not to drive a manual in central London if I can avoid it.

[SiddharthR]

Driving in Central London is an absolute nightmare. The roads are tiny and the cars are unending.
This traffic is despite several curbs put in place like
1. Congestion Charge where certain types of vehicles have to pay ~Rs. 1500 per day to enter the city and
2. Low Traffic Neighborhoods where they shut off residential areas to road traffic entirely

The underground + bus is the preferred mode of transport for everyone who isn't a millionaire

[msdivy]

London, Dublin, Toronto - Bangalore is in the company of world-class cities .

[mk600]

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

Interesting, how did they calculate average time for 10 kms?
Honestly, if I can cover 10kms in 28 mins, I can define that journey as a dream coming true.

I agree that 10 km on ORR during office hour in less than 30 mins is pretty good driving day. Its much more likely to be 40-45 mins, making it past London as the worst city.

Unfortunately this data is from Tomtom, whose footprint in India is debatable. It would have been better if the same report was published by Google Maps.

[samee_arian]

Not sure if Bangalore authorities are doing anything to make things better. They lack foresight and knee jerk reactions are generally the norm. Sometime back they had made cycling tracks and separate BUS and Emergency Vehicle lanes on ORR. Many cyclists had started using the ORR, including me, however one fine day they suddenly removed these lanes. Worst thing, they are discouraging ride sharing apps without providing any good alternatives. Hopefully the Metro connectivity helps but still a long way before current Metro work completes which is adding even more stress.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Am amazed Bombay is not in the list. Probably because average times get skewed by the few relatively fast roads like the Sea Link, Eastern Freeway and Eastern Express Highway.

In terms of traffic, I think there are 3 distinct Bombays now:

- Regular South Bombay. Traffic still moves nicely at most times & days. Think Prabhadevi to Breach Candy or similar.

- Regular North Bombay (Bandra, Juhu, Andheri etc.). Horrendous traffic during waking hours & especially in the evenings. Narrow roads, road & metro construction work everywhere, auto rickshaws & generally denser traffic levels.

- The fresh & new developed Bombay with top-class connectors = Eastern Freeway, Harbour Link, Bandra-Worli Sealink and of course, the upcoming Marine Drive to Worli Coastal Road (so many more 80 - 100 kmph links coming up):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyUEWDYCIyU

Personally, I avoid traffic with a vengeance. E.g. If I have to drive to far suburbs, I only do so on Sunday morning to lunch time. Weekdays, I drive offpeak hours or to places where the traffic will be flowing (e.g. Prabhadevi to Marine Drive on a weekday evening - opposite direction of evening traffic). Work-from-home has huge benefits & flexibility.