‘Only better public transport system can save our city’

Bengaluru: Bengaluru boasts of 57 lakh vehicles which mostly crawl their way through peak hour traffic. With limited infrastructure and ever increasing vehicle population, the city is trundling towards a dead-end. Home Minister G. Parameshwar recently proposed that waiting time at traffic signals would be cut by half, but experts have remained sceptical. Young IT professionals, who struggle to commute through city’s traffic every day, opine that improving the public transport system is the only solution and not bringing down the time spent at traffic signals by diverting traffic.

Over By2Kaapi with Deccan Chronicle, Priyankar Khuand, an IT professional, said, “The traffic police have made it clear that no new roads can be laid nor new subways constructed. The alternative routes are already choked with traffic. Where will the police divert traffic to? It is impractical to make commuters take detours of 3-4 km just to reduce the waiting time at traffic signals.”

Agreeing, Hirok Jyoti Kakoti , another techie, said, “These are temporary measures. I feel the situation will not improve unless the public transport system is improved. We need more buses and we need circular commuter trains like in Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai. The Metro needs to expedite its work and spread its network to as many as areas possible.”

Priyankar says, “During peak hours, the average time to cover 6-8 km is over an hour. We need a comprehensive solution to tackle this situation. The authorities should make significant investments in public transport and ensure that the roads are pothole free for smoother movement of traffic. More public transport buses, if properly planned, will reduce the number of private vehicles on roads. We need to increase the number of buses from the present 6,000 to around 10,000 with route rationalisation.”

Hirok said, “We need to make the best use of our existing resources. The government is not even willing to use the rail network. Then there is a campaign against mini-buses and cabs. But in a city where public transport is scarce, they are a blessing in disguise.”

The city has grown manifold in recent years and is facing innumerable issues. Priyankar says, “The authorities should have anticipated this exponential growth. After all, this is the IT hub of the country. The Metro was planned too late and commuter rail is just on the drawing board. Then there was also talk of Bus Rapid Transit System and the mono-rail. I feel Bengaluru should have all modes of public transport. Only such a system can save this city. Relying on and pressuring a single agency will not work.”

Agreeing, Hirok said, “We have seen flyovers and underpasses being constructed now, while they should have been completed way back in 2005.”

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