[ajay_satpute]

Great. Pune is in top 5, for whatever reason.

Pune has literally gone from bad to worse in no time, due to the metro construction all over the place. Already narrow roads became narrower with the additional bonus of heavy things falling on vehicles from the overhead metro construction.

I had spent 2.5 hours in my car from Vimannagar to Kothrud (18.5 KMs). I actually finished watching an entire movie before reaching home. :-)

Honestly, Pune was never geared up to handle so much onslaught of traffic, more & more new vehicles coming on the road everyday, people from other cities moving to Pune and other factors. Hinjewadi can beat most places in the world for WORST rush hour traffic. Besides the sheer number of vehicles, the sheer number of idiots riding some of those vehicles, add up to the traffic woes. Absolutely no fear or shame of breaking traffic laws such as signals, one-ways, seat belts, helmets, or anything of that sort. And 70% (some random number, could be more or less, who knows) of those idiots don't do much work anyway, after reaching office, after breaking all possible traffic rules and putting others lives in danger.

I have often seen many Mumbai-kars complaining and commenting on Pune traffic. Why don't you first fix your own ???

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

If autos and 2 wheelers were banned here (and I'll be the happiest man on earth if that happens) Bangalore will become a paradise overnight. Mumbai and Delhi are actually higher in congestion but it won't appear so because of lack of so many 2 wheelers and rickshaws that Bangalore is blessed with.

At the risk of ignoring/repeating points in your conversations with @navin and others, I'd say outrightly the above result would not be possible. Case in point from a reverse logic is Pune city.

The city was a bikers' (and auto) majority a decade and half ago; till the purchasing power of the average man increased; and the car % swelled up! Ask any Puneri who's lived there pre-2007 and they'll point this (among multiple other factors).

Fact is what @navin said is very correct - 2 & 3 wheelers are the bedrock of the Indian population (that includes cycles too!) Public transport is limited to the cities, 4 wheelers to the top 10-20% of the population. While 4 wheelers can complain about the unruly-ness of the 2/3 wheelers; in turn, they can complain about the space mis-management by car owners; a huge majority of which across every city would be occupied by one driver and no passenger.

On the wishful note, I see a better setup of this in Bangkok city traffic where the 4 wheelers stick to rules very much stringently; while the 2 & 3 wheelers pretty much ride like they do on Indian roads; but the car & bus owners have accepted this as a given and there is very less road-rage out there. Something for us to learn and accept, but dunno how we can migrate to that kind of situation!

[CarNerd]

Worst traffic even after having Namma Metro. While the metro was being constructed, everyone beared with traffic thinking the problem would be solved once the metro gets ready.

Now another phase of metro is being constructed and the traffic is pathetic. By the time all phases of metro get constructed, the traffic would be so bad that you won't be able to reach the metro station.

[vishwasvr]

Not surprised at all. Growth decentralisation is the only solution. If everyone wants to move to one city based on job opportunities etc, then there's only so much any city can handle. Develop tier 2 and 3 cities/towns. Push people out gradually and evenly. Improve last mile connectivity. Stringent driving license norms will keep stupid drivers off the road.

None of these white topping, black topping, road widening etc will help.

[alpha1]

Hey, does anyone see a peculiar pattern?
The morning rush hours is more gradual built up with a flatter peak, whereas the evening rush hour is narrow window with a high peak.

This trend is present in every city I have seen in India.

I have experienced this everyday in Pune (past 10 yrs or so), since I encounter almost no congestion while going to office, but the evening time is a nightmare.

[Labrador]

This report and the view of all BHPians mentioned here begs the question that where does foresight in planning go especially when talking about an area like Dwarka in Delhi. It was made as an extension of already bursting at the seams Delhi and is relatively better planned with wide roads and well planned parking on the side of the road in most areas.

The same planners could not plan for the predominantly residential Dwarka's residents to go towards Downtown Delhi and Gurgaon. The two roads from Dwarka Flyover and the UER 2 which winds around the airport to merge into NH 48 are becoming a nightmare.

Every evening vehicles from 3 lanes before Dwarka Flyover try to merge into the 2 lanes on the flyover, needless to say there is ZERO lane discipline and I drive with my heart in my mouth while people create 5-6 lanes in these 3 lanes, add buses and you have the perfect recipe for chaos.

It is high time planning for at least 3-4 decades of traffic growth is done before creating choking points and rendering the whole concept of satellite areas or suburbs useless.

[navin]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

I understand all that, it's truly a fact of life.

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

Comments on Bangalore Traffic brings to my mind contrasting aspects compared to Mumbai traffic,

Originally Posted by Capricorn

I live in south Hadapsar part of Pune which is notorious for crazy and highly unsafe railway crossings.

Originally Posted by vibbs

Hehe. I am tempted to ask, have you guys been to Delhi?

Firstly, I think we all agree that traffic discipline in India leaves a lot to be desired. So does a sense of hygiene. So do many of the morals and ethics that define our "business" community and bureaucrats. That's India. Love it or hate it. Due to various factors (this is not the right forum to discuss this) India has remained a "developing" nation for over 50 years. In this quagmire we call a nation, we TBHPians are a small privileged minority. If you own a car, any car, you are.

The only way to decongest the metros and cities is improved and expanded metro transportation. The type Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Paris, and New York depend on. Till our metros develop these systems we are destined to live with roads that are shared by traffic with varying capability: from hand carts to supercars.

Oddly I find that European cities (Zurich, Madrid, Milan, Prague, Stockholm, Berlin) have some of the best developed public transport systems. Europe also some of the most equanimous CEO to average pay ratios (Sweden, for example, is 60:1 compared to around 230:1 for India). Maybe these 2 metrics are related.

OT warning: I remember a cold Sunday morning in the November of 1995, I was walking with a friend of mine outside the circular courtyard of their Folketinget (Danish Parliament building) when we saw a lone cyclist cycle to the gates get off his cycle, remove his soft helmet, and a rubber band that he around the ankles of his right leg and enter the gates. I asked my friend who he was and my friend replied: "Oh that's our Prime Minister".

I wonder if we would ever see any Indian politician or industrialist commute with so little fanfare. Instead, they travel in motorcades and ensure the roads they travel on are reserved for them when they are up and about.

If we are going to decongest the roads, it is us up to us motorists. We cant expect the family of 4 on a motorcycle to help. If we carpool more often, use public transport on weekends when time is not of essence, walk and cycle more, maybe collectively we can make a difference. Lets not be part of the motorcade.

[evilmessiah]

I used to complain of the worsening traffic in Kochi. Boy, did I get another think coming when I came to Bangalore. I used to drive/ cycle/ take the cab/metro to work in Kochi. From the first day I started working in Whitefield, I have been walking to work. It is much easier.

One thing that I realized is that irrespective of the place- be it Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi or Kochi and irrespective of the mode of transport- be it motorcycles, cars, autos, cabs, trucks or buses; when there are way more people in a certain place than the city's carrying capacity, traffic jams inevitably occur.

Infrastructure development can only do so much and it takes time. It cannot keep up with the explosive population growth that is there in India. The population in one place would have boomed by the time it takes to build a metro line there. A road would have been designed for 10 lakh vehicles a day, but by the time it's done, there are 1 crore vehicles plying there.

India is particularly affected in this regard both due to the population growth and the fact that the authorities planning infrastructure development are seriously short sighted and underestimate the demand and usage of public infrastructure. Case in point is reserving a rail ticket. One cannot say that the railway infrastructure isn't adequate- it's one of the biggest in the world. However, when one tries to reserve a ticket, say during Friday or before a holiday, it will always be in a waiting list. One can find a similar case in the BMTC buses in Whitefield. I detested using buses in Kochi, but when I saw the BMTC buses packed to the rafters with people almost spilling out of the doors, I felt that my old days of commuting by bus in Kochi was nothing short of a blessing. At least I had a place to stand or sit. The crowd in the buses in ITPL is so bad during some days that I always walk back to my accommodation even if the buses drop me nearly in front of my residence.

At the end of the day, it's nothing but a case of a city bursting at its seams and groaning with the weight of the people it carries. It is just like an aquarium with too much fish. The fate of such an ecosystem is not pretty at all in the end. Sad, but true even if not many people will come to terms with this fact. As for me, I would be planning my retirement in some small town where life goes by slowly, thank you very much. I would like to have some peace, quiet, fresh air and where I can at least drive an older driver's car well and cycle without fear than be stuck in the traffic jam of a dying metropolis in a comfy SUV even at the expense of opportunities, money and a lavish lifestyle.

[ARAY]

I was on my way to Kerala, for southern trip from Hyderabad, I plan in such a way that I cross Bangalore post 1am at night. This time around i crossed at 2am and section 144 was also in place. My hopes were high but I was so mistaken, it took me 2 hr 45 mins to enter from Nandi hills side and exit out of Hosur

[maverick.munish]

Delhi at No. 8 is no better.

The jams are massive during the holiday season. Especially if you are moving towards Jaipur (NH8) or towards Chandigarh/Amritsar (NH1/NH22).

Long weekends/Diwali/Holi are times that I absolutely abhor going home to Shimla.

The report showcases how we need to develop 2nd and 3rd Tier cities in India and move industries/MNC's etc to lower rung cities to ease the congestion on the roads.

Alternatively the public transport needs to be improved to get the number of vehicles on the road to go southwards.

[aryag1998]

Originally Posted by Jerryaj

By the way BLR doesn't have the highest number of two wheeler in India, its Delhi as of 2018, I don't have the exact numbers but sure Bangalore is not No 1 but No 2.

Pune actually has the highest number of 2 wheelers in the country... Or even Asia for that fact

[RGK]

Tier 2 cities are no way better now, Coimbatore traffic jams are becoming popular. Our urban and infrastructure planning capability has to be seriously looked into.

OT:
Heard a few years ago,

Sir, Get into the car, will drop you.
No Sir, need to go home early and will go by walk .

[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

Mate. Ecospace is so bad that sometimes we spend 30 min to an hour inside the campus. Can Mumbai boast of something like that?

Yes sir, we can! Try getting out of my office (Indiabulls Finance Centre, Elphinstone) at evening peak time (6-8pm) - and it'll take you 40-45 mins JUST to get your vehicle out of the darn building gate onto the main road!!

[Old_Salt]

Dilli bas thoda dur hain!

The problem is well known to anyone who uses any form of transport. Getting on that highway to hell is easy, but getting off is not! Fellow Indians make sure that you dont miss the daily dose of excitement on that ride.

Solution, not many, for the size of our cities. Intelligent transport systems (ATMS/AVCS) which work well in some countries, find it difficult here. Delhi had implemented the BRT model based on Brazil model, and after miles long traffic jams with adjacent lane completely empty was scrapped.

Time to get on that 11 number ki bus,(walk) as we say in Delhi!

[Vasanth]

Well, I’m not from Bangalore. But I’ve been many times though.

I’m not surprised by this fact. Bangalore has the worst traffic congestion.

Probably no one has road sense there.

No car free of dents or scratches.

There are some roads, which is supposed to be 3 lane. The same road can be made 9 lane.

You can’t even keep your leg outside if you open the door.