Bengaluru Named World’s Second Most Congested City in 2025
According to the report, Bengaluru recorded an average congestion level of 74.4 per cent in 2025, an increase of 1.7 percentage points compared to 2024
Bengaluru has once again drawn global attention for its traffic woes, ranking second among the world’s most congested cities in the TomTom Traffic Index 2025. The Karnataka capital trails only Mexico City in overall congestion levels.
According to the report, Bengaluru recorded an average congestion level of 74.4 per cent in 2025, an increase of 1.7 percentage points compared to 2024. Commuters in the city took an average of 36 minutes and nine seconds to travel 10 kilometres, which is two minutes and four seconds longer than the previous year.
The index estimates that Bengalureans lost about 168 hours and 40 minutes—nearly seven days—stuck in rush-hour traffic over the year. This marks an increase of nearly 13 hours compared to 2024, highlighting a worsening traffic situation despite ongoing infrastructure initiatives.
Bengaluru’s ranking has steadily climbed in recent years. The city was the sixth most congested globally in 2023 and moved to third place in 2024 before reaching second position in 2025. The report noted that the average rush-hour speed in Bengaluru dropped to 13.9 kmph, around one kmph slower than last year.
Pune emerged as the only other Indian city in the global top five, ranking fifth. Dublin in Ireland and Łódź in Poland secured the third and fourth positions, respectively. Mumbai ranked 18th globally, while New Delhi also featured in the top 20.
In Pune, average traffic speeds stood at 18 kmph, while Mumbai commuters moved relatively faster at an average of 20.8 kmph. Despite showing improvement with a 3.3 percentage-point drop in congestion compared to 2024, Mumbai’s motorists still lost around 126 hours annually to traffic delays.
New Delhi recorded a congestion level of 60.2 per cent in 2025, an increase of 3.5 percentage points from the previous year, with commuters losing an average of 104 hours annually in traffic.
The TomTom Traffic Index, compiled by the Netherlands-based location technology firm, analyses global traffic trends and commuting behaviour across major cities. The latest findings come at a time when Bengaluru is being promoted on global platforms as a “city of the future,” even as its residents continue to grapple with worsening traffic congestion.
The report underscores a broader trend across Indian cities, where motorists continue to lose significant productive time to traffic gridlocks—often amounting to nearly a week each year—despite investments in urban mobility and transport infrastructure.
