Commute

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…

The incomplete pillars on Chennai's Inner Ring Road are a stark reminder of one of the tall claims of the state and central government about the extended Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS). Twenty three years after Phase-1 of Parakkum Rail between Chennai Beach and Mylapore was inaugurated in 1995, construction over a 1.5-Km stretch from Adambakkam to Puzhuthivakkam on the Inner Ring Road remains suspended. The 20-kilometre long MRTS line from Chennai Beach to Velachery includes prominent and populated localities that are not serviced by the older suburban railway network. However, the MRTS  has not been utilised to its maximum potential…

Pourakarmika kills self due to non-payment of salary for six months:  As many as 3,385 waste-pickers who had joined the BBMP's workforce recently and have less than one year experience with the civic body, did not receive salaries for the last six months. This allegedly led to Subramani, 37 year old resident of Vyalikaval, committing suicide on July 8th. BBMP has claimed to have released Rs 27 crore on July 10 subsequently to ensure that others are paid their dues and that such incidents do not recur. Meanwhile, the civic body is also planning on-ground verification of workers, because the list includes…

Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's maiden budget has revived the pod taxi at a cost of Rs 1445 crores (five stretches totaling 29.8 kms at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore per km) and the elevated corridor project at an estimated cost of  and Rs 15,825 crores for Bengaluru. However the proposal has come under fire by citizens and experts alike, who termed it unscientific and can't solve the traffic woes of Bengaluru city. At a citizens' meeting called by Citizens for Bengaluru, on July 7th, 2018, the volunteer group to come out of the Steel Flyover Beda movement in 2016,…

The 712 meter stretch of Church Street which was opened to the public with much fanfare in March 2018 is back in the news. But this time it is not all good. Touted as the golden standard for pedestrian-centric roads, its fall from grace has been rather quick. Reports of substandard construction and flooding during rains have been making regular appearance in various media outlets. The aspects of the roads which had garnered high praise, like using cobblestones for a road, innovative footpaths which are designed to be disabled-friendly are now being criticised for shoddy work and an impractical design.…

India does a poor job of providing signage, and nowhere is it more evident than at the Chennai Airport. So here are some pointers to finding the Chennai Metro station and Tirusulam suburban train station from the arrivals area. There are no MTC airport buses in operation. When you are leaving the International Arrivals area, you pass through a small canopy from which you can see the car parking area ahead, and the Chennai Metro station on your left. The difficulty is in locating the elevator that will take you and your baggage to the concourse level of the Metro.…