'100 to 168 hours lost yearly': Raghav Chadha flags traffic crisis in metros, seeks national mission

AAP MP Raghav Chadha has raised alarm over traffic congestion in India's metro cities, where commuters waste 100 to 168 hours annually stuck in gridlock.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha has highlighted in the Rajya Sabha the growing traffic crisis in India’s major cities, claiming that commuters spend 100 to 168 hours every year stuck in traffic, and called for a national-level solution to ease urban congestion.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha called for a National Urban Decongestion Mission to tackle the issue and improve urban mobility. (Sansad TV)

In a post on X on Friday, Chadha shared a video of his speech from earlier this week, and said cities like Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Chennai have effectively turned into “giant parking lots,” where people spend hours sitting in traffic rather than actually commuting.

“On average a commuter spends 100 to 168 hours a year stuck in traffic. Not commuting. Just sitting,” he wrote on X. The MP stressed that the impact goes beyond inconvenience, pointing to lost productivity, wasted fuel, rising pollution and declining quality of life as major consequences of prolonged traffic congestion.

Chadha said he had raised the issue in Parliament, where he proposed the creation of a National Urban Decongestion Mission aimed at tackling traffic problems in major metro cities.

According to him, such a mission should focus on improving public transport systems, using smarter traffic management strategies, and introducing a scientific parking policy to better manage urban mobility.

“We are not stuck in traffic. We are stuck because of it,” Chadha said, adding that if India wants to boost economic growth, its cities must start moving.

Traffic congestion has long been a concern in India’s urban centres, with rapid population growth and increasing vehicle numbers putting pressure on existing infrastructure.