The Traffic Problem in Bangalore

The city of Bangalore is stuck in traffic and it’s worsening each day. Bangalore traffic has altered the lives of everyday citizens in some way or the other. To quote a previous YOR blog post, “The road to success is always filled with obstacles but often these obstacles exist on the road to our office itself”. It’s clear that with growing economic development in the city, more vehicles find themselves onto roads and with added vehicles comes a dreary, all-consuming problem of traffic congestion.

The traffic issues for citizens:

Every Bengalurian has a legendary traffic story to narrate. It could be about that time when a downpour pinned you, along with the entire city, to a spot in the middle of nowhere; or the “one-hour airport trip” that ended only after four hours. Or the time a vehicle was broken down up ahead in the road and hours were spent sorting this issue out. You know you have a story. However, for many, these stories are part of their everyday life that it is merely ordinary for them now. Just another day in the life of the Bengalurian.

According to the authorities:

“Traffic in Bengaluru is out of proportion and has now become a real challenge. Some serious measures have to be taken, and the movement of the public should not be affected,” a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Krishna S. Dixit observed orally during the hearing of a PIL petition, filed in 2015, which had sought directions to the authorities to set up a mechanism for maintenance of roads in good conditions. Pointing out that, at present, no one is held responsible for any lapse either in traffic management or proper maintenance of the city’s roads, the bench said that there should be a mechanism to monitor and take remedial measures. The bench asked the counsel for the petitioners, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the State government to submit suggestions on how to solve city’s traffic problems effectively.

Reasons for the problems:

1) Inadequate infrastructure.

Bangalore is not growing that much bigger anymore. It’s over-crowded, and more and more vehicles keep pouring in. We’re currently operating beyond our capacity, and the inflow of vehicles does not stop.There are many roads that are poorly planned and they tend to be like bottlenecks for the traffic flow. There are disproportionate pathways. Care of highways is maintained much better than those of intra-city roads. More resources are spent on highways.

City roads have not been thoughtfully planned. Even the construction and adjustment of drainage pipes under roads happen very often and this ordeal happens in a very disorganized manner. Roads are dug every other day. Pipelines get laid. Things need to happen in a more thought through and Integrated manner. It would be wise not to do this during rainy season, and to do it during summer instead. The traffic situation worsens considerably when the roads are being dug. Roads get blocked, life gets miserable for all commuters.

2) Poor discipline

Commuters play a major part in Bangalore’s traffic problem. There’s barely any lane discipline followed anywhere. Everywhere there are instances of road rage. A simple issue between two drivers blocks up the entire road for the traffic behind them. People often drive on the wrong side of the road much to the dismay and irritation of oncoming traffic, even causing congestion in the process. The traffic police are more concerned about issues like checking for helmets rather than the more important guidance of traffic towards smooth flow.

3) Public transportation

Buses and the metro can be used a lot more effectively than they are being used right now. Metro Service is decent but its network is yet to penetrate far reaches of Bangalore. In short, very limited number of stations as of today but construction is ongoing. BMTC buses are usually constantly packed, making it inconvenient for the commuters. More buses need to be on the roads of Bangalore.

Some traffic stats:

As of December 2017, the city had nearly 7.3 million vehicles, up 74% from 2012. This has been fueled in large parts by the steady expansion of the tech industry, which has drawn migrants from across India, swelling Bengaluru’s population to an estimated 10.2 million in 2014, up from 8.4 million in 2011. The city’s infrastructure—roads, bus service, the two metro lines—have hardly kept pace.

Solutions:

For the government:

Two-wheelers continue to dominate the Bengaluru roads, accounting for 70% of its total vehicular population, followed by cars (19%). Heavy vehicles like buses, trucks, and cars prevent smaller vehicles like two-wheelers from moving past. Two-wheelers can afford to pass through smaller spaces in traffic congestion. But having just one common lane for all the vehicles; riders often cut through dangerously between the trucks and cars to move speedily. In Bangalore, we have different types of vehicles and both have their own affordances. The vehicles which are smaller can move faster and should not be made to wait due to the vehicles which afford more space and move slowly. In this case, creating something as simple as an understood separation for two-wheelers (wherever possible) can significantly improve the situation. It would help if we have separate lanes, so they can move quickly without blocking the traffic and riding dangerously.

In a study conducted by Stockholm Transportation Dept, it was found that traffic congestion shows an exponential nature. That means, traffic congestion at one junction, propagates exponentially. Fortunately, it works the other way as well. If you clear a certain part of congestion, the traffic clears up faster than you would expect. Traffic moves in quants or chunks. And every chunk has its own momentum. The more often this momentum is altered, the slower it moves and the slowness is caused by the change, not the number. Which means, if you are traveling on a straight road with five to six traffic signals on the way, the signals should be designed in such a way that when one chunk of traffic leaves one signal, the signal ahead of it becomes green when the chunk reaches there. The system needs to be as smart as possible when it comes to traffic signaling.

We need traffic signals that collect data from all directions and adjust the signal timing accordingly so chunks of traffic flow smoothly on the roads without much alteration in the momentum. It is referred to as Intelligent Traffic System (ITS). This system has been implemented in Japan and has given positive results.

Although Delhi has one of the biggest metro networks in the world, they still suffer from traffic congestion. The government should provide better public transportation. More buses, and better quality of buses so that people would be encouraged to take them to work. The government should also ensure that the roads are taken care of. Stricter laws should be put in place for those breaking the traffic rules, for example, driving on the wrong side of the one-way.

For the corporations:

Carpooling must be encouraged by businesses by offering incentives to those who carpool. As with cycling. The corporations should not only encourage cycling but also provide cycles to its employees, so as to encourage them further and thus reducing their carbon footprint. Companies should also be able to provide housing for its employees close to work. If that is done, it would make a major difference to both, the comfort of the employee as well as to the dreary traffic problem that’s all prevailing.

For the people/conclusion:

We feel safe to conclude that even though a better metro connectivity would improve the traffic situation, with an ever increasing number of people migrating to Bangalore, we need better ways to handle traffic. Companies like Yulu offer cycles and electric cycles at very cheap rates that you could use. Live closer to work, use public transportation, work from home, carpool, take public transportation or take your cycle. Don’t be a nuisance on the road, be a gracious commuter. Don’t break the rules. Be a solution to this issue and not part of the problem. The solution starts with you.

(Republished from the blog of Prabhat Kumar Tiwary [https://prabhatkumartiwary.wordpress.com])