Commute

Aravind is a college student in Chennai. He also works as a bike taxi driver on a part-time basis. After his college hours, he logs into the mobile application and waits for a ride to be booked. He gets anywhere between eight to ten such bookings between 5 pm and 11 pm. Hailing from a middle-class family, he says, "My parents got me this bike on loan. I also got a bank loan to pursue my higher studies. This part-time job as a bike taxi driver allows me to at least meet my daily expenses and provide a little for…

Hosur Road and Sarjapura Road are two arterial roads, cutting across the important south-east suburbs of Bengaluru. Sarjapura Road has become strategically important over the last few years due to the exponential rise of the IT corridor on Outer Ring Road (ORR), which has propelled development on Sarjapura Road. This development has led to the consequence of traffic bottlenecks. At the crucial junction of these two roads is the junction of Hosur and Sarjapura Road at the St John’s hospital. This area is perennially congested due to the complexity of two adjacent traffic junctions: the Marigowda Road and Koramangala National…

In the last couple of years, Rapido has become a well-known name in Indian cities. The ride-hailing platform, focussed solely on two-wheelers, has been gaining popularity in cities struggling to deal with congestion. Now the other major ride-hailing platforms - Ola and Uber - are also offering bike taxi services. Rapido has also become a household name as it were because of the recent spate of backlash against it and attempts to get it banned. Several states have banned the platform, cases have been filed in court and the tug-of-war between the company and state governments (Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and…

Local trains are Mumbai's lifeline, ferrying an average of 61.95 lakh passengers daily.  And Mumbaikars' long-awaited desire for an 'air-conditioned local train' became reality on December 25, 2017, when the country's first and only AC suburban train embarked on its maiden journey from Borivali to Churchgate. This 'air-conditioned local train' boasts state-of-the-art security features including automatic door closing, a talk-back system, and fire-fighting mechanisms in each coach. Despite a slow start in ridership, it gradually gained traction, becoming a favourite among commuters, especially during scorching summer months. Since then, they've incorporated 79 new AC trains on Western Railway and 66…

If you lived close to a metro station, would you use the metro for your daily commute? The answer is not so obvious. A study by researchers from the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) found that the urban poor in Bengaluru do not prefer the metro even when it is located close to their homes. The study found that the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL's) metro system was unaffordable for these residents, who instead relied on walking, BMTC and two wheelers. However, a few tweaks can make the metro more accessible and sustainable than it is currently, according…

In part one, I wrote about my experience as a regular user of public transport. I described what it is like to commute by walking, by bus, and by cabs and auto rickshaws. This article will provide insights about using the metro and my perspective as a pedestrian. Most importantly, I will also offer suggestions on how the government and other entities can improve public transport. Namma metro I simply love the metro. It is unimaginable that public transport can be enjoyable – neat, clean, air-conditioned, well-behaved people, always on time, etc. There is hope! But advertisers make the metro…

As a regular user of public transport in Bengaluru, I would like to share my experiences and offer some suggestions for improving the same. My observations will not be restricted to only vehicles and movement. Before that, let me explain what I understand to be public transportation: It is a combination of two or more of these: walking plus road transport (bus, cab, auto, bicycle…) and metro (or train) plus the reverse. All this involves a host of issues and challenges. Let me emphasise at the outset that I will not attempt to balance my observations with “good things” that…

There is a small patch of land adjacent to the Baiyappanahalli metro station. This is the first stop for the mobile Alli Serona bus stop, a colourful art installation. The roof of the bus stop is draped in colourful fabric, the inside features tablets for visitor surveys, digital screens with the story of the bus stop and a single red chair. If you sit on the chair you are voting for a bus stop. Over four hundred people did that on the first day of the exhibition on October 5th. The beginnings of Alli Serona The bus stop is a…

The yellow boards on passenger vehicles have outlived their utility and are causing more harm than good. The carpooling controversy in Bengaluru showed our inability to rethink the rules when faced with behaviour that runs contrary to those rules. Read more: Making carpooling legal in Bengaluru – it’s the centre’s job, not state’s Over the past few days, newspapers have reported that service providers, which help people discover carpooling passengers via an app and charge for its use, will be slapped with a fine since they use white board (private) vehicles for a commercial purpose. The commerce here is charging…

Our roads are not designed for driving below 50 km/hr, so why should one be penalized for pushing on the accelerator? For starters, I am a relatively slow driver. This subjective disclaimer is no proof before the Rs 1000 fine I was charged for going over the speed limit in Chennai recently.  Following this, I started driving consciously and analyzing speed behaviours in different parts of my daily commute, only to realize that speed is inherently connected to the roads you are driving in. Fundamental issues with road design Roads in India, at best, are planned for a comfortable journey…