There is always a lot of energy, diversity and opportunities in India. But along with all the hustle and bustle comes one major challenge: traffic congestion. We’ve all been stuck in a long jam at one point or another. One of the most irritating parts of residing or traveling throughout some of India’s most busy cities is traffic. In this article, we will explore the top ten Most Traffic Congested Cities of India 2025 to see how they fare, why they are so jammed up and how people manage to cope with it every day.
1. Kolkata
India’s most traffic congested city in 2025 is Kolkata, the “City of Joy.” Driving through Kolkata with all its narrow roads, un-organized traffic flow and myriad vehicles can be a marathon. Here, it takes an average of over 34 minutes to travel ten kilometers. On top of that, Kolkata’s roads lose about 110 hours a year, during those rush hours due to congestion.
While its colonial architecture and culture are beautiful, the traffic doesn’t move very quickly. For many residents the daily struggle goes on but there are plans afoot to improve public transport.
2. Bengaluru
Bengaluru, known as the “Silicon Valley of India,” takes the second spot. The city is home to top IT companies and startups and attracts thousands of professionals every year. But, with a growing population and booming industry, Bengaluru has a huge traffic problem.
A 10 kilometer journey takes almost 34 minutes on average, and residents spend over 117 hours a year in peak hour traffic jams. But the tech savvy city is trying to fix the problem with metro expansions and smart traffic systems, and with the proliferation of private vehicles, it only makes it worse.
3. Pune
Pune ranks third on the list. For its colleges and IT parks, Pune has grown rapidly over the years. However, all these growths have added much congestion to the roads.
On average, travelers in the city relocate 10 kilometers within 33 minutes and 22 seconds. Measures such as bus rapid transit systems (BRTS) and flyovers have been introduced into place by the authorities, but the rising traffic is a hard nut to crack.
4. Hyderabad
The ‘City of Pearls,’ Hyderabad comes fourth. Historical landmarks, biryani, and the bustling IT sector have transformed it into a most famous city. Its roads, however, tell a different story.
Traveling 10 km takes about 31 minutes and 30 seconds. Congestion takes a huge toll, punishing locals with 85 hours lost to traffic each year and visitors with almost the same. To reduce the load on road infrastructures, the government has been improving road infrastructure and increasing metro services.
5. Chennai
The fifth position is occupied by Chennai, which is a hub for automotive and IT industries. Outdated infrastructure coupled with a growing population of motorists has created the city’s traffic problem.
A 10 kilometer journey usually takes you 30,20 minutes of your time. The cost to residents amounts to nearly 94 hours per year lost in jams. Nevertheless, Chennai’s attempts to modernize public transport systems (including expansion of its metro lines) are encouraging.
6. Mumbai
Sixth on the list is the ‘City of Dreams’. As the land of fast speed life, Bollywood, and its famous landmarks, Mumbai suffers from severe traffic congestion because of excessive people and very less road area.
10 kilometers travel on average takes about 29 minutes and 26 seconds. Commuting can be a trying task with 103 hours of commuting a year being lost to traffic jams. But Mumbai’s local trains, metros and shared taxis do offer some relief to the millions who have to dodge its busy streets daily.
7. Ahmedabad
Meanwhile, Ahmedabad, arguably the largest city in Gujarat, ranked seventh. The once textile and diamond production city has seen a surge in vehicle numbers.
People commuting in about 29 min and 3 sec on 10 km. Residents lose 73 hours per year to traffic in rush hour on average. Both efforts to expand metro networks and Ahmedabad’s BRTS are in place to benefit from the swoosh of the congestion.
8. Ernakulam
The commercial capital of Kerala Ernakulam takes the eighth position. Traffic problem caused by the city’s expanding urbanization and limited road space.
Ten kilometers can be traveled in around 28 minutes and 30 seconds. 88 hours per year are lost by people to jams. Water transport is a focus of the government and is expected to be better in coming years, besides it is also working towards expanding more metro services.
9. Jaipur
The ninth city is Jaipur, the ‘Pink City’. Jaipur is more famous for its royal palaces and historical charm and so growing tourism and urbanization has turned the place into a traffic bottleneck.
For a 10 kilometer trip travelers took approximately 28 minutes and 28 seconds. Everybody loses 83 hours a year stuck in rush hour traffic. This is one of the steps in the right direction: ring road project and metro expansions in the city.
10. New Delhi
Rounding out the top 10 is New Delhi, India’s capital. The city is lively as its political scene and culture is full of life and as such attract millions daily.
It takes drivers in New Delhi more than 23 minutes and 24 seconds to travel 10 kilometers. We lose, on average, 76 hours to traffic each year. The plans for road expansions and the city’s extensive metro network are likely to make things better.
Why Do These Cities Face Traffic Congestion?
Traffic congestion in India’s cities occurs for many reasons:
- Growing Vehicle Numbers: With more people buying cars and bikes, roads can’t cope with the rising traffic.
- Poor Infrastructure: The roads are narrow and often poorly maintained, pulling vehicles through plenty of jerks.
- Rapid Urbanization: Roads are getting more crowded than infrastructure can expand to meet them.
- Lack of Public Transport Options: There are few buses, trains and metros and everyone is forced to sit in cars.
- Inefficient Traffic Management: Jams are caused by unorganized traffic signals, no proper lanes and jaywalking.
How Can We Solve These Issues?
While traffic congestion is a big challenge, cities can take steps to reduce the problem:
- Promote Public Transport: Metro systems as well as other mass transit options, buses should be invested by governments.
- Encourage Carpooling: The number of vehicles on the road are reduced by sharing rides.
- Build Better Roads: Expanding and keeping road networks can reduce traffic.
- Use Smart Technology: Apps that monitor congestion and traffic signals can also get a driver onto an alternate route.
- Create Bicycle and Walking Lanes: Reducing vehicle dependency is encouraging non motorized transport.
Final Thoughts
The traffic jams are a huge problem, but they can be fixed. Better roads and smarter public transit is what cities like Kolkata, Bengaluru and Pune are trying to tackle this with. But there’s still more to do and small changes to how we travel can help a lot. So, if we know the issues involved and there are smart solutions, then we can certainly deal with the busy streets in densely populated Indian cities.
So, the next time you’re stuck in traffic, remember: things are improving and others are in the same boat.
