Targeted congestion pricing in dense business districts, combined with demand-based parking management, can reduce traffic congestion, the Economic Survey 2025-26 has said, calling for policy intervention to manage rising congestion in large cities. Citing global examples such as Singapore and London, the survey noted that a dynamic, electronic, congestion-pricing system that automatically charges vehicles when they pass under a toll gantry during the peak period has helped cut traffic volumes, improve travel speeds and lower emissions.
These recommendations come into focus even as Bengaluru once again ranks as the world’s second most congested city, trailing only Mexico City, with commuters losing an average of 168 hours a year stuck in traffic, according to the TomTom Traffic Index 2025. For residents, congestion is no longer just a mobility issue; it is increasingly influencing housing choices, workplace location and real estate investment decisions across the city.
The city recorded an average congestion level of over 74%, meaning commute times were nearly three-quarters longer than free-flow conditions. For residents, this translated into an estimated 168 hours lost annually in traffic, more than seven full days spent stuck on the road each year.
Also Read: Economic Survey: Congestion pricing, parking reforms key to decongesting cities; prioritise people over vehicles
Daily commutes have grown increasingly inefficient. A 10-km drive in Bengaluru took an average of 36 minutes, with peak-hour speeds dropping to around 13–14 kmph, among the slowest globally. On the city’s worst traffic day in 2025, congestion crossed 100%, with vehicles crawling just a few kilometres in 15 minutes, TomTom said.
This is not the first time the tech capital has made headlines for traffic chaos. In October last year, the Outer Ring Road (ORR), one of Bengaluru’s busiest IT corridors, was brought to a complete standstill after a bus broke down during the evening rush hour, triggering massive congestion. The gridlock stretched for several kilometres, crippling arterial routes and leaving commuters stranded, with some taking nearly two hours to travel just 12 km.
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Homebuyers are relying less on glossy brochures and more on traffic movement
As daily commute times lengthen, homebuyers and tenants are recalibrating their priorities. Proximity to offices, metro corridors and employment hubs has become a decisive factor, pushing up demand in well-connected micro-markets such as Whitefield, Outer Ring Road, Sarjapur Road, and areas along operational and upcoming metro lines, real estate brokers point out.
As Bengaluru’s traffic worsens, homebuyers are relying less on glossy brochures and more on lived wisdom. A Reddit user wrote down his “golden rule” for self-use homes.
For families, the advice is simple: buy close to your child’s school. Jobs may change, schools shouldn’t, and hours lost in traffic steal time from studies, play, and childhood itself. “Don’t let your kids’ childhood erode in Bengaluru traffic,” the buyer warned.
For households without young children, or where children have already grown up, the priority shifts inward. The same buyer argued that purchasing a home close to one’s workplace can significantly improve the quality of life. Spending hours each day stuck in traffic not only drains energy but also affects health, productivity and personal time, costs that rarely show up in property price calculations but are deeply felt over the years, he said.
Here’s how traffic snarls are changing real estate choices in Bengaluru
For many NRIs returning home after decades abroad, accessibility now outweighs long-held location preferences. One such family, winding up a 30-year overseas stint, initially wanted to settle in JP Nagar but reconsidered after factoring in airport travel times. “It takes at least two to three hours to reach the airport during peak traffic. Since our children and family live abroad and visit frequently, we are now evaluating homes closer to the airport in north Bengaluru for convenience and also to escape the traffic,” family members said.
Real estate brokers say this shift is increasingly common, with homebuyers prioritising neighbourhoods that offer everyday conveniences within a short radius. People want locations where everything is accessible, malls, hospitals, daily needs, without having to cross the city, they said, adding that peripheral but well-connected pockets are gaining traction.
In the rental market, traffic considerations have become even more important over the past year. “Proximity to the metro stations has become the first filter for many tenants,” Kiran Kumar of Hanu Reddy Realty said. “Traffic is now one of the foremost questions we are asked, especially by students, young professionals and families looking to stay close to offices or schools.”
Parents, in particular, are willing to relocate to cut down school commute times. Kumar cited a recent example of a family in Whitefield who decided to move closer to their child’s school. “They were spending hours on the road every day. The move was purely to avoid traffic fatigue,” he said.
This demand has translated into higher rentals in areas with strong public infrastructure. “Homes close to Metro stations or wide arterial roads command a premium,” Kumar noted. “In well-connected locations, landlords are charging 10–15% higher rents compared to areas farther from public transport.”
In one instance, a family was willing to pay a clear rental premium to secure a home within walking distance of a metro station, purely to avoid the daily grind of Bengaluru’s traffic. The husband, in this case, commutes to north Bengaluru, a 20-km journey that would otherwise involve multiple choke points and unpredictable travel times by road, often more than an hour.
“Paying more for rent made sense when compared to spending exhausting hours in traffic every day,” the family said, adding that metro connectivity offered not just time savings but a more predictable and less stressful commute.
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Urban planners urge a reset in Bengaluru’s growth strategy
Urban planners say that Bengaluru’s next phase of expansion must move away from car-centric planning and instead prioritise mixed-use development, strong last-mile connectivity and the idea of a ‘15-minute city’, where homes, workplaces, schools and leisure spaces are located within a short, manageable distance.
Sathya Sankaran, an urban mobility expert and widely known as the Bicycle Mayor of Bengaluru, said, “Today, even crossing the major roads like Outer Ring Road to reach tech parks on the opposite side has become a challenge,” pointing out that the city’s transport design leaves people with little choice but to rely on private vehicles.
Calling for a fundamental rethink of Bengaluru’s road infrastructure, Sankaran said that roads are only one part of the urban system. “Without coordinated land use and integrated public transport, we end up with more vehicles and the same bottlenecks. That is exactly what Bengaluru is experiencing today.”
Urban experts note that Bengaluru’s rapid expansion has placed intense pressure on its core, while nearby towns have not developed at a comparable scale. “Everyone is coming to Bengaluru, but the second-largest city in Karnataka is much smaller. We need to start thinking about developing satellite cities and improving their connectivity so people have viable alternatives,” Urban expert OP Agarwal, former CEO of the World Resources Institute (WRI) India, said.