India’s traffic chokehold: Bengaluru ranks second; Pune fifth in global congestion index for 2025

Motorists in Indian cities continue to be caught up in traffic gridlocks for hours at end losing up to a week per year according to 2025 mobility data. Bengaluru was the second most congested city in the world in 2025, with an average speed of 16.6 km per hour, an average motorist spending 15 minutes to commute 4.2 km, according to the 2025 congestion data released by Netherlands-based location technology firm TomTom. Mexico recorded the highest congestion levels globally, according to the location technology firm.

Pune was ranked fifth and was the second Indian city to feature in the global top 10 in terms of congestion. Mumbai showed signs of improvement, registering a 3.3 percentage-point drop in congestion compared to 2024. Despite this decline, commuters in the financial capital still lost 126 hours a year, with average speeds hovering at 20.8 kmph. New Delhi, recorded a congestion level of 60.2% and an increase of 3.5 percentage points, with motorists losing 104 hours annually.

Of the top 10 cities with the highest congestion in Asia, six were from India: Bengaluru (1), Pune (2), Mumbai (6), New Delhi (7), Kolkata (9), and Jaipur (10). Chennai ranked 11^th, while Hyderabad was placed 15^th in the Asia ranking.

The TomTom Traffic Index is compiled using anonymised GPS data and real driving speeds from across the world. “The Index benchmarks cities on their congestion levels, travel times, and speeds, based on worldwide trip data spanning more than 3.65 trillion km, providing access to traffic information city by city,” the firm said.

In 2024, an average motorist in Bengaluru spent 34 minutes and 10 seconds to cover 10 km. In 2025, the same distance took 36 minutes and 9 seconds—an increase of 2 minutes and 4 seconds. On average, a motorist in Bengaluru spent 168 hours in traffic during the year, or the equivalent of seven days and 40 minutes.

Other Indian cities on the list included Mumbai at 18^th place (126 hours a year), Delhi at 23^rd (104 hours), and Kolkata, which was ranked second globally for congestion in 2024 but slipped to 29^th in 2025, with motorists spending 150 hours annually in traffic. Chennai was ranked 32^nd, while Hyderabad stood at 47^th.

Hyderabad ranked 15^th and stood out as one of the few Indian cities to record an improvement, with congestion falling by 1.3 percentage points compared to the previous year. While Bengaluru saw a 1.7 percentage-point increase in average congestion levels in 2025. Chennai saw a 1% increase in average congestion.