[sairamboko]

Let me add my 2 cents to this ongoing discussion.

Traffic - its everywhere, you cant run from it or hide from it. You just need to avoid it or evade it I was living in Hosur last year and used to commute from Hosur to ORR daily. One needs to plan his day to avoid traffic. Its that simple. I used to start from home at 7am and come to work by 8am. We just need to figure the best routes and some shortcuts. I will start by 4pm and reach my home by 5pm. Someday may be a bad day and thats not avoidable, because we are humans and cant control everything.

Schools - One of my reason to shift from Bangalore to Hosur was the affordable education. I admitted my son in a reputed school for a paltry fees of 10,000 and 10,000 donation!! I believe the Bangalore schools, majority of them are looting us in the name of quality education! However as majority said, we need to search for such schools in Bangalore.

I am back to Bangalore this year because of my divorce and other personal issues. I will be back to Hosur next year and will get my son admitted to the same school again. I heard that the railway line between Byapannahalli and Hosur will be doubled. If that happens, then my commute next year will be even more smoother!

Cost of living - yes thats high and i think its pretty much same across all major cities.

@locusjag - Bangalore is the place to be or atleast work, if you are in IT. There are many solutions to the traffic problems and cost of living problems. Dont be afraid to take the opportunity. Please do check with the HR of the firm, whether the role allows flexible timings. If yes, then take it and start early to work, come back to home early. Login from home in the night to connect and follow up. This is a balanced approach that i do to manage both work and personal life. I have a 4.5 yrs son and i have his custody with me post divorce. Its been busy for me, but i do manage everything. Just prioritize and plan. All the best for your interviews!!

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

In fact, it is much, much better than Bombay local, Delhi ring roads and a few roads at Chennai that I have traveled on.

For the record, I commute 60km every day through the usually dreaded Bannerghatta Road, Silk board, Marathahalli and ITPL and haven't lost my senses or health.

While I agree that it is not as bad as Bombay local, one issue with Bangalore I see is the unpredictability of the traffic. Here you just cannot plan your commute properly, especially in ORR. One cycle breaks down and you have traffic pile up for miles. We should first find and kill the bbmp desigbers. I have to travel just 5 kms one way and it takes anywhere between 20mins to 1.5 hours depending on the luck.

What mode of transport do you use BTW? And do you have any tips especially on maintaining the health part. I am allergic to dust and pollen and have no option but car.

Originally Posted by sairamboko

I used to start from home at 7am and come to work by 8am. We just need to figure the best routes and some shortcuts. I will start by 4pm and reach my home by 5pm. Someday may be a bad day and thats not avoidable, because we are humans and cant control everything.

Many companies have started experimenting different shift timings and thses days you see jam in front of Ecospace even at 4pm all the way through 10pm.

I feel the long term solution is only people moving out and seriously contemplating a move back to my hometown by taking a pay cut. Just that offers are hard to come by.

The sad truth is that this is not the same Bangalore that I came 15 years ago.The city is not designed to handle these many people or vehicles and the people at the top are only busy filling their pockets.

[pratyush6]

Just adding my 2 cents:

1. Lived in Bangalore from 2010 to 2018 - So, in a way, I was in the middle of a rapid expansion of the city.
2. The traffic situation went from okay to bad to horrific in these years. My office commute has always been long, not distance wise but time wise.
3. In 2010 I used to take 25 mins to cover a distance of 12 kms with a bike, 45 mins in a bus. In 2014, the same was 45 mins (car) and 2018 was 1 hour 30 mins (car) on an average, with almost similar distances and mostly off peak hours (7am start, 3.30 or 4pm leave)
4. By early 2018, the traffic was just unbearable, so much so that I was only taking Uber or Ola, even if it was a quite expensive (cost me 350 bucks one way)

It does bring out the worst among us, specially if you are alone, if you typically have someone to talk to, it's still manageable. My brother moved from Bangalore to Chennai and finds it so much better. The point is that, for such normal distances, you should not be travelling for so long. I can understand if you travel 40 kms a side, you are allowed to take a bit of time, but for 10-12 kms?

I have also found that taking public transport is also pretty good for your health and mood, I wish it was encouraged and last mile connectivity strengthened in Bangalore. People at-least deserve that much.

[NPV]

Had to go around the city today first towards Thanisandra and then to Girinagar, was mentally preparing for a harrowing drive, but unexpecredly it was quite peaceful actually

Took the Sirsi circle flyover (to Mysore Road and back) after a long time and found its condition quite the opposite of what it was the last time I took it ! The expansion joints are very good now and easy to drive over the metal plates without a thud as there is no level difference. However the road surface is quite bad all the way in both directions with a mix of potholes and deep ruts

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by sbkumar

May I know what is your mode of commute ?

I keep it flexible between riding to BTM and carpooling from there or by riding to Akshay Nagar to carpool from there and by driving with my pool buddies. Each of these are pretty evenly divided amongst the 3 of us.

Of course what adds to the peace is that none of us are loud music/rash driving/signal breaking fans and we keep our cool by chatting amongst ourselves on a myriad of points, listening to e-books which interest us mutually and the like.

You dont need to be an X Man for this, just be peaceful on the inside.

Originally Posted by Jaguar

While I agree that it is not as bad as Bombay local, one issue with Bangalore I see is the unpredictability of the traffic. Here you just cannot plan your commute properly, especially in ORR. One cycle breaks down and you have traffic pile up for miles.

All city roads, without exception, across cities face the same, be it ANY city in India, however wide they are.

None of our roads have emergency lanes or laybyes and where they exist, we dont respect them and use them as an additional lane, Bangalore is no exception.

Originally Posted by Jaguar

I am allergic to dust and pollen and have no option but car.

Mentioned in detail above. One of our carpool buddies is also similarly sensitive and uses a mask for our bike ride till the car point, I can ask him the details and let you know if you want me to.

[adi_gt]

Just got back from Kovalam via NH44 to Bangalore. Just before Salem to Silk Board it was mayhem. It felt as if I drove 230kms in full traffic. Toll at salem and thoppur saw queues of over a KM. Yes, over a KM. Krishnagiri toll was the kingpin of the whole stretch. 3km long queues, it was utter chaos. Finally, some common sense prevailed and police opened the toll free by force. It was so bad. Attibele toll was its usual self - Slow and crowded. So why I am writing it here - Firstly the FastTag is as good as the SlowestTag. Secondly, for all you folks who do not travel regularly, please try to stay on the left most lane which generally moves the fastest towards the FastTag lane.

[paragsachania]

Talking about "festive jams", this was Nelamangala to NICE Entry on yesterday at around 2130. 9.9km of crawl.



I escaped from this, by driving back late on Saturday night .

[neeravnaik]

Originally Posted by adi_gt

Krishnagiri toll was the kingpin of the whole stretch. 3km long queues, it was utter chaos. Finally, some common sense prevailed and police opened the toll free by force. It was so bad. Attibele toll was its usual self - Slow and crowded. So why I am writing it here - Firstly the FastTag is as good as the SlowestTag. Secondly, for all you folks who do not travel regularly, please try to stay on the left most lane which generally moves the fastest towards the FastTag lane.

I had driven from Chennai earlier in the day and I was half thinking of taking the route from Kolar to avoid this but I took a chance as I was early enough and cross Krishnagiri toll at around 2 pm and it was a breeze. I did not even stop for lunch anywhere afraid of the jam later on.

[kiran_cr]

Originally Posted by neeravnaik

I had driven from Chennai earlier in the day and I was half thinking of taking the route from Kolar to avoid this but I took a chance as I was early enough and cross Krishnagiri toll at around 2 pm and it was a breeze. I did not even stop for lunch anywhere afraid of the jam later on.

Yes i got a foward in one of my group regarding a 3.5kms long jam near krishnagiri toll yesterday evening. I was on the opposite lane going towards Chennai at 7pm and witnessed the mayhem on the other side. 3 lanes of Chennai bound toll lanes were reused for handling Bangalore bound traffic yet the jam was overwhelming. Attaching a google maps picture i got as a forward

[strawhat]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Talking about "festive jams", this was Nelamangala to NICE Entry on yesterday at around 2130. 9.9km of crawl.

I was a part of this dhamaka yesterday. We were returning from Halebeedu. My cousin was following traffic updates on GMaps from Hassan itself at around 7PM. Hoping that the traffic will subside if I reach late, I drove very sedately and also spent close to an hour at our dinner stop. The slow drive did not improve the conditions, in fact the deep red line on the map only extended. The worst transpired just after the Navayuga toll plaza. Took us around one and half hours to reach Nagasandra metro station.

Close to 4 hrs from Hassan to Nelamangala. An hour and half more to cover 10 odd kilometers . What was a fun filled and a very enjoyable long drive till then turned into an absolute nightmare. I cursed myself and vowed never to go on a long drive during festival days.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by strawhat

My cousin was following traffic updates on GMaps from Hassan itself at around 7PM.

I recollect such an instance, only once ever in my lifetime of driving outstation and returning back at the end of an extended weekend. Kept assessing the situation right from Hassan after I got stuck at each toll for nearly 20 minutes and as we passed Swati Delicacy and noticed the parked cars, we decided to take a detour, entered the road that connects to Magadi and drove till Magadi, exited onto ORR and then Peenya to reach my home. This really saved us that day.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

We deviated from Kunigal for Magadi exactly at 1933 and I was at Vidyaranyapura home exactly at 2107 by my watch. So that's around 1.5 hours and I am very sure looking at the traffic trend and the fact that Googlemaps also showed 3 big jams (Devihalli Toll, NH48-NH4 Junction, NBTL Toll) that may have again consumed 20 minutes each (Thats essentially an hour itself).

I did that despite of staying in North Bangalore and that really helped me on that fateful day. In fact, you should have simply done it too.

[motorsan]

Originally Posted by neeravnaik

...I took a chance as I was early enough and cross Krishnagiri toll at around 2 pm and it was a breeze.

I reached the place at 3 PM and crossed the toll in 15 minutes or so. Looks like the situation worsened exponentially as the evening progressed.

[strawhat]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

In fact, you should have simply done it too.

In hindsight, yes. This idea was actually at the back of my mind. As I monitored the situation I recollected a post I read here about that detour (was it you?). There were multiple signs too (long toll lines, number of cars at Swathi Delicacy, Empire etc.) that pointed to the obvious. But was apprehensive of taking a secluded route at late night, one that was new to me and which meant I would have to cover considerable additional distance as my home is at HSR.

At the end of the ordeal I was kicking myself for not implementing my mind note.

[Nalin1]

95% of them want to make full use of the long weekend and return home late at night before getting ready for the routine offices/schools the next day.

I ensure that I somehow fall in the 5% bracket and either take alternate routes or try and complete the return journey even before sunset. Does not matter if we do not utilize the last part of the long weekend.

I have also noticed that the Bellary road is not so congested (long weekend or not), so maybe try and take that route by planning differently wherever you maybe coming from .

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by neeravnaik

I had driven from Chennai earlier in the day and I was half thinking of taking the route from Kolar to avoid this but I took a chance as I was early enough and cross Krishnagiri toll at around 2 pm and it was a breeze. I did not even stop for lunch anywhere afraid of the jam later on.

My dad was traveling on that route on Friday. Apparently lot of road work going on in the palminar forest area and causing traffic jams. Be warned.
Tumkur road and ORR in Gorguntapalya were jammed in the morning and also in the afternoon about 1500. Hopefully it will get lighter tomorrow.
I used to plan my holidays on weekdays before my kids started school and used to enjoy the drive. Now unfortunately I'm forced to use the long weekends and holidays and suffer.