A study conducted by UK car-sharing company Hiyacar found Mumbai to be the most stressful city to drive in 2021 and Delhi ranked fourth, globally, among 36 other international cities researched.
The factors considered for the ranking included the number of cars per capita, total number of vehicles within the city, severity of traffic congestion, quality of roads, public transportation, options, number of traffic accidents per year and density of the city.
Upon the study, the factors then receive an overall score of 10 (with 10 being the highest point of stress) to conclude which city ranks the highest. Despite holding the title of one of the world’s busiest public transportation systems, Mumbai was ranked as the most stressful city to drive in, with a score of 7.4.
With the city having 510 cars per km and more than 1,00,000 people per square km, the roads of Mumbai tend to be overcrowded. Mumbai has eight types of public transportation facilities. Still, the population density puts pressure on Mumbai, leading to the city being the top spot for most car accidents.
After Mumbai, Paris came second with a score of 6.4. The city has more than 32 million cars which often leads to heavy traffic. The city’s roads are among the best, but limited transport facilities push locals to depend on their vehicles.
Peru’s capital city, Lima, was ranked the least stressful city to drive in. Holding a score of 2.1, Peruvians had the least amount of traffic accidents within the city over the years. Right after Lima is Dongguan, one of China’s most populated cities.
“Growing population and personal car ownership are only going to exacerbate this issue in cities worldwide, however adopting car sharing in our day-to-day lives is an effective way to decrease the number of parked cars on our road and hopefully alleviate some of the factors causing stress for drivers,” said co-founder and CEO of Hiyacar Graeme Risby to news agency Mumbai Live.
“This augments what city activists and car drivers have been saying for a long time. For the elite class and govt officials, it’s easier as they have drivers. The government needs to set up a high-powered committee that should include citizen representatives to review the situation and suggest remedial actions. It should go through the earlier High Power Committee report recommendations and find out how many of them have been implemented,” said senior transport expert with Mumbai Mobility Forum and Mumbai Vikas Samiti, AV Shenoy to news agency Mid-Day.
Most stressful cities to drive in
>> Mumbai, India
>> Paris, France
>> Jakarta, Indonesia
>> Delhi, India
>> New York, United States
Least stressful cities to drive in
>> Lima, Peru
>> Dongguan, China
>> Hangzhou, China
>> Tianjin, China
>> Bogota, Columbia
