Bangalore traffic has been officially rated as worst in the world. ‘Namma Bengaluru’ is now officially the most traffic-congested city in the world.
According to the annual report released by the location technology firm TomTom, the city experiences the worst traffic congestion situations. Out of the 416 cities studied for the report, Bengaluru ranked first.
The report suggested that an average Bangalorean spends 71 per cent extra travel time stuck in Bangalore traffic. The drivers in the ‘Tech City’ of India spend an extra 243 hours i.e. around 10 days in traffic during peak hours.
The report also mentioned other Indian cities in the top 10. Mumbai grabbed the 4th spot with 65 per cent congestion. Pune was at the 5th spot with 59 per cent and the capital New Delhi at the 8th spot with a congestion level of 56 per cent.
With 4 out of 10 cities being from India, the list clearly throws some light on the traffic congestion problem throughout the country. Other cities in the top 10 list included Manila, Bogota, Moscow, Lima, Jakarta and Istanbul, with India contributing to the list majorly.
The list shows that the congestion around the world has increased significantly, with only 63 out of 416 cities showing a measurable amount of decrease in congestion levels. The least congested city around the world is Abu Dhabi, ranked at 410 in the list.
Ralf-Peter Schafer, TomTom’s VP of Traffic Information, said in a statement: “Globally, there’s a long road to travel until congestion levels are brought under control. In time, the rise of autonomous vehicles and car-sharing services will help alleviate congestion. But, the policymakers can’t afford to sit and wait.”
He continued to add, “They need to use the tools available to analyze traffic levels and impacts, so they can make critical infrastructure decisions. And drivers have a role to play too. Small changes in driving behaviour can make a difference.”
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Bangalore Traffic | Causes
The traffic in Bengaluru is infamous all around the world. There are some deep-rooted problems which turn out to be some of the primary causes for the Bangalore traffic.
- The roads all around the city weren’t built to handle such a huge influx of daily traffic. While the number of cars increased after the ‘IT Boom’ in the city, the transport infrastructure didn’t cope up with it.
- The number of vehicles registered in Bangalore by July 2019 stood somewhere at 82,53,218. The roads and the infrastructure isn’t suitable for such a huge number of cars.
- Majority of the people do not prefer public transport in Bangalore. Although, with the development and expansion of the Bengaluru Metro things might take a U-turn for good.
Traffic congestion is one of the key factors which are adjudged for a country’s economic prosperity. But, it ironically also leads to wastage of billions of dollars in a year.
