Bengaluru’s Traffic is Costing the City: Here’s What Can Be Done

1.18 million Bengaluru residents waste 600 million man hours a year travelling, causing a loss of Rs 3,700 crore.

1.18 million residents of Bengaluru waste 600 million man hours a year travelling, causing a loss of Rs 3,700 crore. Image used for representational purposes. (Photo: Reuters)

Bengaluru residents are spending too much time travelling on roads, bringing down the city’s productivity and leading to huge losses as per the BDA’s Revised Master Plan (RMP) 2031 report.

The report states that a congestion-free Bengaluru can help in reducing the losses suffered by the city.

According to the RMP, 1.18 million residents of the metropolis waste 600 million man hours per annum travelling – which causes losses of Rs 3,700 crore.

The lack of an efficient public transport system in the city has been blamed.

The shortage of public transport options has increased the number of private vehicles on the road and this has added to the congestion. This has also reduced the vehicle speed on roads to 11 kmph.

Fuel loss per annum has been pegged at Rs 50 crore and almost 2.8 lakh litres of fuel is wasted every hour of every day, the report says.

The study reveals that traffic congestion will increase thrice as much and will inadvertently lead to more losses if the existing situation prevails. It also says that under these conditions, the share of buses plying on the streets will decrease by 36 percent from the existing 47 percent by 2031.

How Do We Tackle the Situation?

The proposed Peripheral Ring Road, which connects Hosur Road and Tumkur Road, cutting across Old Madras Road and Ballari Road and the Intermediate Ring Road, between the proposed Peripheral Ring Road and the Satellite Towns Ring Road will help connect the city with towns and villages in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region, the reports says.

A series of ring and radial road projects will help decongest the metropolis.

However, the distance between two points, in certain parts of these roads is less than 5km, and will result in excessive allocation of transport infrastructure. The northern arc of the peripheral ring road could be connected to the NICE Road corridor to reduce congestion, it suggests.

The report also recommends a commuter rail system for certain strategic routes including – Benagluru to Peenya, Nelamangala and Tumkur, Bengaluru to Bommasandra and Hosur, Bengaluru city to the International Airport in Devanahalli and Bengaluru to Bidadi, Ramnagara, Chennapattana and Mysuru.

The plan also suggests a ‘Bus Rapid Transport System’ to increase connectivity with areas like Hosur Bidadi and Peenya to reduce traffic.

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