Pune: Pune has slinked back to pre-COVID outbreak level after 11 months of lockdown-induced decline, according to a report by TomTom, an Amsterdam-headquartered independent location technology expert.

According to the study, Pune witnessed 42 per cent of traffic congestion in last year (from January-December 2020). However, the traffic congestion reported in 2019 in Pune was 59 per cent. The highest average daily congestion of 66 per cent was reported on February 7, 2020. The morning rush saw 44 per cent congestion while the evening time recorded 68 per cent congestion last year.

Pune’s neighbouring city Mumbai claimed the unwanted record as traffic congestion in the city stood at 64 per cent in January, went down to 0 per cent in April, which was the peak of lockdown and now the congestion stands at 53 per cent, according to the report. With 53 per cent congestion, Mumbai sits second of the world table. In 2020, 86 per cent of Mumbaikars saw congestion in the evening as 62 per cent faced the morning hours’ congestion.

Likewise, Bengaluru, which was ranked the number one globally for congestion in 2019, recorded traffic fall from 70 per cent in January to 6 per cent in April and rise back to around 48 per cent in last month of 2020, according to the report. Bengaluru ranks sixth currently in the world while Delhi sits on the eighth position globally.

TomTom Traffic Index, describes the traffic situation in 2020 in over 400 cities in 57 countries. The traffic data by TomTom is studied using over 600 million connected devices.