Commute

Bengaluru is a city which has far oustripped its original population for which it was designed. From a population of approximately 15 lakhs in the 1970s, to an estimated 110 lakhs today (source: Draft Revised Master Plan 2018), the city’s population has burgeoned beyond limits, and stands at the cusp of further explosive growth to 210 lakh plus by 2031 (the end year of RMP 2031). Transport planning for such a huge population is very important, and cannot depend on piecemeal solutions. That’s where elevated corridors come into picture. Modal shares and extrapolation Many conflicting numbers are being passed around…

It has been two years since the Metro was launched between Mysore Road and Byappanahalli. Since the day it opened, it has been my main transport to get to work. So much so that I can’t think of any other way of commuting to work! The issue since then has always been the last mile, the last 6kms from the station to the office. I decided to go with BMTC and the results have been mixed. On mornings, it would take anywhere between 20 mins and 45 mins for that distance, not considering traffic. Evenings, it took anywhere from 25…

Varthur lake, the second-largest lake in Bengaluru has been an unfortunate victim of unplanned urbanisation and industrialisation. With the growing population and the inflow of commuters to Whitefield and Sarjapur on a daily basis, the infrastructure of the roads circumventing the lake, specifically the Varthur bridge and the Varthur-Gunjur stretch, are unable to handle the congestion. This has pushed local residents to demand the widening of the road. While the BBMP had sanctioned the work on repairing the bridge, work has come to a halt due to protests by surrounding landowners who are afraid of losing their land. The road-widening…

Kasavanahalli Development Forum(KDF) hosted a meeting of many Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and forums that represent more than 10,000+ citizens across Bellandur and passed a 'Bellandur Development Resolution 2018' to address the critical infrastructure issues in the ward. In Bellandur, the IT hub/SEZ ORR zone alone contributes to ~12% of IT Services GDP for the country, and 30% of Karnataka’s IT Revenues. In addition, Bellandur is one of the highest contributors of tax to BBMP with no proportional investment coming back in infrastructure. Citizens' right to life is being challenged, with no basic amenities of water, drainage, road infrastructure, public…

Twelve hours after two commuters were killed in an overcrowded train at St Thomas Mount on Monday evening, a similar accident claimed four lives at the same station on Tuesday morning. Four men -- Shivakumar (19), Bharat(16), Naveen Kumar (25) and Shankar (age unknown) -- were killed, while six others injured when their shoulder bags hit the 5-feet railway cement fence at the station. They were travelling on the footboard of the overcrowded Chennai Beach to Tirumalpur express that reached St Thomas Mount Railway station at 8.20am. According to a spokesperson from Southern Railways, the fence was constructed to prevent…

With Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s maiden budget reviving the pod taxi for five stretches in Bengaluru at a cost of Rs 1445 crores, several eyebrows have been raised in questions over what makes the government favour it as a possible solution to the city’s traffic nightmare. Interestingly, the idea of pod taxis isn't as new as one would imagine. Indian cities have seen similar experiments before: The Chembur - Wadala - Maharaja Chowk monorail project, the airport feeder metro built by the Delhi Metro as a PPP project which was subsequently converted into the orange line. Both have had their…

Travelling within Bengaluru City has become a chronic nightmare for all its citizens. Even as people grapple with never-ending traffic jams, the government has come up with various ideas to solve the issue, including the much debated elevated flyover and the pod taxi project. But are decision makers losing sight of the broader context and framework within which the traffic situation must be viewed? Is there a deep enough understanding of the nuances that need to be considered for the gridlock to be broken and the efficiency of solutions multiplied? Talking to Citizen Matters, Professor Ashish Verma deconstructs the overall…

Eight years ago, a bunch of us were discussing on Praja.in about commuter rail routes and reviewing its potential for changing the transportation scene in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region of 8,000 sqkms. In one of the comments, I had proposed that we use the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) as a hub for rail as well, so a new transport hub for passengers is created. Let’s look at what we might achieve by doing this. Economic growth of a country depends on the productivity of the economy. Efficient, intelligent usage of Labour and Capital investments determine productivity. Where we deploy investments…

State transport department in dire need of funds  Transport Minister DC Thammanna has said that the state transport corporations BMTC, NEKRTC, and NWKRTC have run into annual losses worth Rs 600 crore, and a fare hike may be inevitable if operations are to be continued. The decreasing fuel efficiency (mileage) of buses caused by halting in congested, traffic-ridden roads and additional taxes for fuel have only added to the debt, the minister complained. In order to make profits and generate some revenue, a proposal for a 20% hike in bus fares has already been made. The matter is being considered by the…

At least a dozen ice cream parlours, car accessory shops, hardware, electrical shops, stationary and a bustling Brahmin Tiffin Bar, a Public Sector Bank, a huge shopping centre and a former chief minister's residence lie in the very busy 80 feet road in Sanjay Nagar, RMV 2nd stage, falling under Ward 18 in in Bengaluru. The 80 feet road starts from Sanjay Nagar and ends at MS Ramaiah Hospital Signal. It connects Sanjay Nagar Main Road to New BEL Road. The road is a vital link to office goers, school children, patients visiting MS Ramaiah Hospital etc. Sadly, the 1.5…