Commute

“It is extremely stressful to cross the Guindy race course stretch to get on to the foot over bridge (FoB) from the Guindy bus stop and board the metro at the Guindy Metro station or an EMU, especially during peak traffic hours in the morning and evening,” says G Nandini, a college student, who uses buses and the Metro to travel to her college in Teynampet.  While the new foot over bridge was a welcome addition to the area that was meant to help pedestrians, the design falls short of serving its complete purpose. The new FoB inaugurated in January…

Bengaluru City Traffic Police, as reported by the media, has initiated steps to book those guilty of three major offences -- driving or riding against the flow of traffic, riding on the footpath, and wrongful parking under Section 283 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Although the news reports did not elicit much reaction from an apathetic public, the change in policy has the potential to harm citizens by inflicting devastating consequences for relatively minor infractions. What is Section 283? Section 283 deals with “doing any act, or by omitting to take order with any property in his possession or…

When the first rains lashed Mumbai in the last week of June, the Andheri subway was flooded, waterlogged and completely shut. This is the best alternative to the now-closed Gopal Krishna Gokhale bridge for East-West connectivity. Gokhale bridge closed last year after it was found to be structurally weak. "Difficulties have multiplied, because of the delay in construction of the Gokhale bridge. It creates havoc in Vile parle, Andheri and Jogeshwari because of the unending traffic snarls, says Vinod Cherian, a daily commuter.  The Gokhale bridge, which closed in November 2022, was supposed to open, at least partially by May…

The last phase of the Byappanahalli-KR Puram metro line is slated to be completed by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) mid-July or August. The Kengeri-Byappanahalli corridor will be connected to the Whitefield-KR Puram stretch. According to media reports, the ridership on the Whitefield-KR Puram stretch is about 28,000 passengers a day, and once the Purple Line is completed, the numbers are expected to rise significantly and travel time will be reduced too. All stakeholders, BMRCL, BMTC, Auto Unions, BTP, company associations like ORRCA, NASSCOM, and civil society groups, are being asked to get working together to get commuters…

Joseph and Mariyam lost their only daughter Nivi to a speeding car that hit her on OMR a couple of years ago.  "Road accidents due to speeding vehicles are prevalent in OMR and ECR. What we do not understand is why the government has not taken any measures to regulate speeding vehicles. How many more lives should we lose before we find a solution to the issue," asks Joseph. In a bid to address this problem, the Greater Chennai Traffic Police (GCTP) recently came up with a plan to enforce speed limits in Chennai. Speed radar guns will be used…

Two years ago, a trip to their village turned tragic for the Shettys after they reached Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) at Bengaluru to board an IndiGo flight. Chandra Shetty, 60, collapsed to the floor soon after check-in. As he was lying unconscious, his wife and daughter sought help from the IndiGo ground staff to bring a wheelchair so that he could be rushed to a hospital, but they claimed that the airline staff failed to assist them in time and his condition deteriorated. The family alleged that due to the airline’s negligence, the golden hour passed without medical attention. Chandra…

“When travelling by the local train, sometimes we hear loud and long train horns followed by an announcement stating - on duty stretcher personnel please report to the station master's office - this indicates that something unpleasant has happened and the injured will be attended by the concerned trained railway staff,” says Vidya K, a regular commuter of the Mumbai local trains. The bustling railway platforms of the Mumbai suburban railway system bear witness to numerous incidents of medical emergencies. With a vast number of commuters using the local train network, some or the other health crises are common on…

On April 25th, commuters, residing along Kanakapura Road (KPR) between the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and NICE road junction, were in for a rude shock while traveling to their offices inside the city. The traffic police closed the right turn from KPR to ORR at Sarakki signal. Commuters had to go straight towards BSK TTMC, drive through BSK vegetable market, and take a right turn into 9th Cross, in front of SNN Raj Spiritua to go towards Jayadeva/Silk Board/BG Road. This change in route increased travel time by 20 minutes; 60% of the traffic on KPR, which used to take…

Kavitha and Jyothi are domestic workers from Tamil Nadu who have been living in North Bengaluru for two decades, raised families here, and speak Kannada fluently. However, only Jyothi can access the free bus scheme. Kavitha doesn’t have an Aadhar card with a Karnataka address. The Congress government’s free bus scheme, Shakti, is highly popular and has been lauded across the media. But the benefits of the scheme will not reach all women. Migrant women in the state who are not domiciled, will be left out of it. Free bus travel has opened up the city for women, say activists.…

On June 11th, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah boarded a BMTC bus, turned conductor for a few minutes, and issued the first free tickets to women passengers as part of the Shakti scheme. Free bus travel is one of the five guarantees of the newly formed Congress government and the first to be fulfilled. While the scheme has been appreciated by many women, several issues need to be resolved to sustain it in the long term, according to public transport advocates. Launch of the Shakti scheme. Pic: Twitter/BMTC_Bengaluru Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV), a group lobbying for better bus service in the…