Delhi’s traffic is world’s fifth-worse

Ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, a study has ranked the Capital fifth among 20 cities of the world where traffic has grown worse in the past few years, adversely affecting people's heath and productivity.

Ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, a study has ranked the Capital fifth among 20 cities of the world where traffic has grown worse in the past few years, adversely affecting people's heath and productivity.

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New Delhi, which will receive thousands of athletes and tourists during the mega sporting event, scored 81 out of 100 in IBM's ‘Commuter Pain Study’, reflecting its failure to keep transportation infrastructure at pace with economic activity.

The study, conducted in 20 economically important cities of the world, interviewed 8,192 motorists, majority of whom said daily commute has become a longer and more gruelling task than before.

According to the study, released on Thursday, Beijing and Mexico City scored 99 each out of 100 in the commuter pain index to become the top two cities in the world having the worst traffic jams.

Swedish capital Stockholm, with a low index score of 15, is the best city for commuters.

Interestingly, in the category of substantial improvement, New Delhi and Beijing led the way at 17 per cent and 16 per cent respectively, the report said.

“This can be attributed to new transportation capacity being aggressively added in both these cities,” it said.

The study also highlighted how traffic problems have an adverse impact on commuters' health. While 30 per cent of the respondents reported increased stress from traffic, 27 per cent said there is an increase in anger and 29 per cent said traffic woes have harmed their performance in work or school.