‘Mumbaiites Lost 126 Hours To Traffic In 2025’: Slower Parel, Andheri, BKC Hotspots, Say Travellers

Mumbaiites lost 126 hours to traffic in 2025, with average speeds hovering at 20.8 kmph, according to the latest TomTom Traffic Index released recently. The financial capital recorded a 3.3 percentage-point drop in congestion compared to 2024. Six Indian cities feature among the top 10 most congested in Asia, with Bengaluru at number one and Pune at number two. Mumbai ranks sixth, New Delhi seventh, Kolkata ninth and Jaipur tenth. Chennai comes in at 11th, while Hyderabad is placed 15th in the Asia ranking. The TomTom Traffic Index is based on anonymised GPS data and real driving speeds collected from vehicles across the world, covering more than 3.65 trillion kilometres of trips. It benchmarks cities on congestion levels, travel times and average speeds,

offering a data-backed snapshot of how people actually move through urban spaces.

How Mumbai fared

While the report suggests an improvement on paper, commuters in areas like Lower Parel, which connects south Mumbai and the suburbs, called it a cruel joke. The speed limit for commuters leaving Lower Parel, Andheri and BKC during office hours has been limited to just 16.9 kmph. While the expansion of Coastal Road and Metro has brought relief in some areas, these areas still remain ‘slower’ due to the narrow lanes of Lower Parel and the increasing number of vehicles.
It takes an average of 35 minutes and 30 seconds to cover a distance of 10 km while returning home from office in the evening. Notably, September 16, 2025, was the worst day of the year for Mumbai; a day when 129% extra congestion was recorded on the roads.

Mumbai ‘better’ than Bengaluru and Pune?

Mumbai has slipped slightly from 18th in the global traffic rankings, which means it is improving. We are not alone in this race; 10 km in Bengaluru still takes more than 36 minutes, while Pune is also rivaling Mumbai in terms of traffic congestion.
Bengaluru has been ranked the second most congested city in the world in 2025. The Netherlands-based location technology firm’s 2025 data shows that Bengaluru motorists crawled at an average speed of just 16.6 kmph, losing 168 hours a year stuck in traffic. Simply put, residents spent the equivalent of seven full days of their year doing nothing but waiting on the road.

Pune emerged as the second Indian city in the global top 10, ranking fifth worldwide for congestion. This makes India one of the most traffic-choked regions globally. In fact, six Indian cities feature among Asia’s top 10 most congested cities: Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Jaipur.

Chennai narrowly missed the Asia top 10, ranking 11th, while Hyderabad stood at 15th, one of the few cities to record an improvement in traffic conditions this year.

New Delhi, on the other hand, saw congestion rise to 60.2 percent, an increase of 3.5 percentage points year-on-year. Motorists in the capital lost 104 hours in traffic in 2025.
Kolkata, which ranked second globally for congestion in 2024, slipped to 29th place this year, though commuters still spent a significant 150 hours annually on the road.
Among major Indian cities, Hyderabad stood out positively. It recorded a 1.3%-point reduction in congestion, landing at 47th globally. While still congested, the drop suggests that targeted interventions and road management strategies may be making a difference.