Bengaluru man’s three hour ORR commute highlights city’s traffic nightmare and severe congestion

A Bengaluru resident’s social media post describing his evening commute on the city’s Outer Ring Road (ORR) has gone viral, once again drawing attention to the city’s severe traffic congestion issues.

Varun Rangarajan, in a post on X, said he left Bellandur at 5:17 pm but remained stuck in traffic for hours. His post was shared at 8:52 pm, by which time he said he had already spent over three hours in traffic.

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1.5-hour delay for short distance on ORR

Rangarajan stated that it took him nearly 1.5 hours to travel from Kalyan Nagar to Manyata Tech Park, a distance of around 2 to 3 km. He also pointed out the absence of visible traffic police personnel along the route.

He added that Google Maps indicated he could have covered the same distance on foot in a similar amount of time. “Left Bellandur at 5:17 pm today and still stuck on ORR. It’s taken almost 1.5 hours to go from Kalyan Nagar to Manyata and there’s not a single traffic police personnel in sight. Google Maps says it would’ve taken me almost the same time to walk home,” he wrote on X.

Bengaluru ranked among world’s most congested cities

According to the TomTom Traffic Index 2025, Bengaluru is ranked as the world’s second most congested city and the most congested in India, with an average congestion level of 74.4 per cent.

The report states that commuters take an average of 36 minutes and 9 seconds to travel 10 km within the city, an increase of 2 minutes and 4 seconds compared to 2024.

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Rush hour delays worsen commute times

Traffic delays are significantly higher during peak hours. During the morning rush, it takes around 41 minutes and 6 seconds to cover 10 km, with congestion levels reaching 94.2 per cent and average speeds dropping to 14.6 km/h.

In the evening rush hour, the same distance takes about 45 minutes and 27 seconds, with congestion rising to 115.2 per cent and average speeds falling to 13.2 km/h.

Infrastructure challenges behind traffic woes

Experts and reports have attributed Bengaluru’s persistent traffic congestion to rapid population growth combined with inadequate infrastructure development, which continues to strain the city’s road network.