Bengaluru Traffic Police reject report ranking city as third slowest in world

According to the TomTom Traffic Index for 2024, a Dutch location technology firm, it takes a motorist in Bengaluru an average of 34 minutes and 10 seconds to cover a distance of 10 km. This, the report said, was worse when compared with data in 2023 where the same distance could be covered within 28 minutes and 10 seconds.

The report said Bengaluru has gone down three places in the survey – from rank six in 2023 to third in 2024.

Also read: New Indian traffic index crowns Bengaluru as the most congested city

The slowest city, as per the report, was Barranquilla in Colombia and Kolkata. Pune was the fourth slowest city followed by London.

Findings not true: Bengaluru Traffic Police

Bengaluru Traffic Police, however, have rejected the report, stating that the findings are not true.

“We don’t assign any value to it. The findings are not true,” TOI quoted MN Anucheth, the Joint Commissioner of Police (traffic) as saying.

Another IPS officer also questioned the veracity of the TomTom report by arguing that the same document has placed Bengaluru in the 64^th rank in terms of traffic congestion. According to TOI, the officer said the report lacks clarity on parameters used for the survey, types of vehicles considered, roads selected and the days of the week when the survey was conducted.

Also read: Catching a flight from Bengaluru airport? Leave 2 hours early, say traffic cops

‘No clarity on parameters, roads, survey timings’

The officer said that the traffic situation in Bengaluru is dynamic and even a “smooth flow can be disturbed by a minor factor such as the breakdown of a vehicle or a vehicle temporarily blocking a road.”

“Again, the speed of vehicles varies between day and night. Given such a scenario, how can one determine the average time?” the officer asked.

Stating that the report should have had clarity on parameters used in the survey like selected roads and the time when the survey was carried out, the officer said previous years’ data of state traffic department actually shows an increase in speed of vehicles on some roads and decrease on others.

Also read: Bengaluru, Pune still among top 10 congested cities but IT city got faster: TomTom index

“Yes, one can cover a distance of 10 km in a vehicle between 20 minutes and 35 minutes, but that is a general calculation,” the officer was quoted as saying.