September 27 in Bengaluru was a nightmare for everyone stuck in traffic on Outer Ring Road. The city;s tech corridor Outer Ring Road (ORR) faced unusual traffic on that day due to the long weekend, rain-induced water logging and double the volume of vehicles. To prevent history from repeating, Bengaluru police want to bring back shuttle service at tech parks to decongest traffic on ORR.
Bengaluru Police Want Tech Parks To Restart Shuttle Service
According to a report by Hindustan Times, Outer Ring Road (ORR) in Bengaluru houses over 500 tech companies. So, in order to decongest traffic the police want to reduce the number of vehicles and instead increase the occupancy of vehicles used by employees to commute to their workplace daily.
MN Anuchet, Joint commissioner of police revealed to Hindustan Times that before the COVID-19 pandemic, companies offered shuttle services to its employees. And now, since companies don’t have full occupancy yet due to work-from-home systems, they aren’t providing shuttle services citing cost reasons. So, this has led to an increase in traffic on ORR.
The senior officer further added to the news agency that if companies provide shuttle services to their employees at regular intervals on completion of their shifts, it can reduce the number of vehicles on the road with single occupants. The ORR stretch which can typically handle 25,000 vehicles per hour, now exceeds its capacity with 35,000 vehicles per hour.
As per the Hindustan Times report, the 13-km segment of ORR between Central Silk Board and KR Puram has the most number of the city’s IT companies. With 500 companies stacked in the IT corridor, with 950,000 employees every day, using 350,000 vehicles, this is one of the main reasons for traffic congestion.
Also Read: Chaotic Traffic In Bengaluru: What Led To The Unimaginable Congestion On ORR Road On Sept 27?
In fact, the traffic is so bad that during peak hours the average speed of vehicles is as low as 4.4 km/hour on Outer Ring Road. Traffic queues extend over 3km. These lengthy commutes are not just increasing the stress levels of employees. But it’s affecting their productivity, and time and leading to economic losses.
During Peak Hours, Vehicles On ORR Move As Slowly As 4.4 km/hour
A report by ORRCA states that the average speed of vehicles during peak hours on Outer Ring Road is only 4.4 km/hour, leading to traffic queues extending over 3km. The report stresses the fact that traffic congestion in the city affects employees’ productivity, increases stress levels and even results in economic losses. Bengaluru loses ₹19,725 crores every year due to traffic congestion.
Also Read: Congestion Tax Proposed In Bengaluru; What Is It? Will It Make Roads Better?
Bengalureans believe that Namma Metro’s Purple Line opening from Byappanahalli to KR Puram will greatly benefit IT employees and reduce traffic congestion on Bengaluru roads. However, Bengaluru Police believe that the numbers at present won’t significantly solve the traffic problems on the ORR stretch.
A former advisor to the Karnataka government on traffic, MN Sreehari believes this unusual traffic congestion is mostly prevalent in eastern Bengaluru due to a large number of IT offices wedged in on ORR.
However, with the re-introduction of shuttle services by tech parks in Bengaluru, residents are hopeful this will lead to a drop in traffic and also help employees travel budget-friendly.
Cover Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
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