In Early 2019, location technology specialist ‘TomTom’ came up with a list of ‘Most Traffic Congested Cities in the World-2018’. Under the list called ‘2018 Traffic-Index’, they study traffic problem in 403 cities across 56 countries of the world understand congestion levels or the excess time it took commuters to travel from point A to B.
Listed below are the 10 most-congested cities as per the ‘Traffic-Index 2018’ along with the percentage of traffic congestion in the city. Percentage of traffic congestion refers to the excess time taken to travel from one place to other than the average time.
#10 Recife
Situated in the northeast of Brazil, the city has a population of around 15 lakh. The average congestion percentage in the city is 49%. This means that the average travel time from one place to another in the city is increased by 49% due to excess traffic.
However, the city experiences above-average traffic congestion between 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and between 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. It may go up to even 96% during some the busiest hours of the day.
#9 Mexico City
Mexico City has a congestion level as high as 52 per cent. However, the Latin American city is amongst the very few cities where there has been no change (neither increase not decrease) in the congestion levels since 2017. During peak hours of office departures, between 6.00 to 9.00 P.m. the traffic congestion can reach as high as 92%.
#8 Bangkok
While most people know this city for its amazing street life, ornate shrines & is one of the favourite tourist spots for most of the Indians, the Thai City of Bangkok has 53% traffic congestion. Similar to Mexico, traffic congestion can cross 90% marks during peak hours. This means that the average time taken to travel will be almost doubled.
#7 Jakarta
Jakarta is another one of the most loved tourist destinations. The city currently holds average traffic congestion of 53%. The city has the highest traffic between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and during those hours; the traffic congestion can reach as high as 86%. In 2017, its traffic congestion rate was 61%, but the city has improvised over the year.
#6 Istanbul
Istanbul’s traffic congestion level stands at 53% on an average and can reach 106% during peak hours. Istanbul is the 2nd most traffic-congested city across all Europe & 6th in the world.
#5 Moscow
While the level increases up to 125% during the peak hours, the average traffic congestion in the Russian Captial of Moscow is 56%. The population of the city is 1.25 crores.
#4 New Delhi
Speaking of the traffic congestion, New Delhi is not only the capital city of India but is also the most populated of the country, 2nd most populated in the world and the most polluted city in the world. New Delhi’s population is around 2.9 crore. One of the major reasons of pollution in the city is the abundant emissions coming from vehicles and the reason behind the high traffic congestion is the exploding population of the city. New Delhi’s Traffic Congestion rate is 58%, but the congestion can rise to 73% during morning peak hours and up to 93% during evening ones.
#3 Lima
Lima is one of the largest cities of South America Continent and the 3rd most traffic-congested city. Currently, the city is experiencing traffic congestion of 58%, which is 8% higher than that in 2017. The congestion in the city can go up to 83% during peak hours.
#2 Bogota
With 63% average traffic congestion rate, the Colombian city of Bogota stands 2nd on the list. One of the biggest problems is that congestion on Bogota’s highways is higher than on its non-highways. The city’s traffic congestion has risen by 1% since 2017 and can increase up to 120 to 130% during morning and evening peak hours.
#1 Mumbai
Profoundly known as ‘The city that never sleeps’, Mumbai has the highest traffic congestion in the world at a level of 65%. This can reach up to 89% during peak hours. Mumbai is the 2nd most populated city of India, 8th most populated city in the world, and stands amongst the top 10 polluted cities in the world. The major factors leading to congestion are lack of road space, simultaneous infrastructure projects, low adherence to traffic rules and a high population.
