[aadya]

Originally Posted by Nalin1

!
Him: But bikes are not safe. Just see the number of buses and trucks on the outer ring road! Their tires are as big as your bike. This is not worth the risk!
A smile from me!. This conversation happened about 6 years ago. I am still doing the same .

Originally Posted by jaganm

I've gone blue in the face trying to explain it to some of my friends, now I just let them stew in their tin cans complaining about their hour long trips "stuck" in traffic

Not to prove the point. I avoid two wheelers because I do end up, with rather pain, padding the bleeding limbs and opened up skull too frequently. Seen young families loosing the bread winner. Many of them were victims of somebody else's error. Lost a few in immediate circle at various points in my life.

I was smitten with two wheelers for long, still we own RE350-1979, RX100 1994 and a scotterette, all in working condition. Stopped riding on the day my wife showed me a positive pregnancy test.

The smile could be for winning an arguement but the stews will for sure be safer. Two wheelers have huge advantage in City commute when compared to Cars. But if you can afford avoid them, if you can't afford trans locate to a place and job where you can afford. We all have only one life.

[Mr_Bean]

As I understand from my colleagues, reduced commute time & savings on fuel is the primary reason to choose bike over car. In addition this would mean extra time(1 hour claimed) spent sleeping.

Reasons may be valid, but they are oblivious to the fact that there is way too much air pollution during peak hours resulting in eye, ENT & respiratory problems. So what's saved through fuel will be ultimately be spent on health care. No matter how safe one drives, the probability of ending up with accident is very high during nights.


My daily commute is 10kms one-way from koramangala to kadubeesnahalli, normally leave by 7-7:15AM and I am in office in maximum 20 minutes. Whereas, if I had to leave by 8:30-9AM, it will easily take one hour, the same applies to bikes/scooters.

It’s important to bring changes to our lifestyle (i.e.) go to bed early and wake up early. There is always a way out, rather than giving excuses to commute by bike.

[Mukund]

80 lakh and counting: Bengaluru roads choke with vehicles
According to figures compiled by the Transport Department, a total of 1752 vehicles are being added daily to Bengaluru roads. This alone has led to the figure touching 80 lakh, not counting the vehicles from out of state. As a result, traffic speeds have slowed down to around 10 kilometres per hour, officials say.
With 93,000 roads in the city, covering 14,000 kilometers, only 17 lakh vehicles can ply at any given time. If this number is maintained, vehicles can move at 40 kilometers per hour, officials say, however, this is rapidly becoming a pipe dream as choked roads are the order of the day currently.
Transport Commissioner VP Ikkeri told the New Indian Express that widening of roads every year was not possible. “There is no policy at present to restrict the number of vehicles per family. We cannot put a cap on people’s purchasing power. Their attitude has to change and they should start using public transport.”
The increasing traffic within city is also leading to more accidents. Bengaluru roads, which have witnessed 22,000 accidents in the last four years, rank only below Chennai and New Delhi across the country in total number of accidents.

Source.
80 lakh vehicles with an average speed of 10kmph!
10% increase in the number of vehicles added daily in a year!

[am1m]

As someone who alternates between driving and riding to work, both arguments for and against using a 2-wheeler resonate with me. If we leave the house early enough, or during the rains, it's the car. If we leave late, we take the bike. (Of course I'm talking only about those who have the luxury of choice, shouldn't forget that for a majority of 2-wheeler users on our roads, the bike is probably the only means of personal transportation.)

I've had my share of spills in the city, thanks to the bike, including an ACL tear that required surgery. I still can't think of stopping using the bike for the daily commute. I simply don't have the patience to sit in a car every single day in Bangalore traffic. Overall, it probably doesn't make too much of a difference in terms of time (we have a thread on the futility of hasty driving), but the bike does go places that a car can't when it comes to traffic jams. Also, bikes certainly are riskier than cars, but not sure if the risk is as much as the perception. I could be wrong.

Now, wouldn't a Metro be better than either a car or bike...

[sdp1975]

I have a domestic flight to catch at 8-20 am this Friday. I stay in Arekere Mico Layout/JP Nagar 7th Phase. Will it be OK to leave by 5-20 am ? How's the availability of Uber early mornings ? Should I book in advance ?

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

I have a domestic flight to catch at 8-20 am this Friday. I stay in Arekere Mico Layout/JP Nagar 7th Phase. Will it be OK to leave by 5-20 am ? How's the availability of Uber early mornings ? Should I book in advance ?

5.20 AM should be fine.

Book Mega Cabs. Do not rely on Ola/Uber.

[OrangeCar]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

I have a domestic flight to catch at 8-20 am this Friday. I stay in Arekere Mico Layout/JP Nagar 7th Phase. Will it be OK to leave by 5-20 am ? How's the availability of Uber early mornings ? Should I book in advance ?

Uber wouldn't be a problem. You don't need to advance book. You will find it at the time of your departure.

Also, 5:20 AM for domestic flight? I'd say that is a tad too early. You will mostly be at the airport by 6:30 AM. Plan accordingly.

[binand]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

How's the availability of Uber early mornings ? Should I book in advance ?

Booking Uber in advance does not reserve an Uber for you. All it does is to trigger a regular Uber search/price matching at the time you have fixed as though you did it manually.

If you want a cab reservation go to Meru.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

I have a domestic flight to catch at 8-20 am this Friday. I stay in Arekere Mico Layout/JP Nagar 7th Phase. Will it be OK to leave by 5-20 am ? How's the availability of Uber early mornings ? Should I book in advance ?

5.20am should be apt (assuming you do not have any check in baggage). For my trip last week, 8.55am flight, I left at 5.55 am(Sarjapur Road). There was a long queue at security at took 20-30 min to clear security itself. So a little buffer is good considering it is morning and vacation season is kicking off.

[Mr_Bean]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

I have a domestic flight to catch at 8-20 am this Friday. I stay in Arekere Mico Layout/JP Nagar 7th Phase. Will it be OK to leave by 5-20 am ? How's the availability of Uber early mornings ? Should I book in advance ?

Avoid Uber and Ola for airport drops. Stick to Meru, book in advance, the driver will normally arrive at your place 10-15 minutes early, cancellations are rare. Meru will be 100-150/- INR costlier when compared to uber/ola.

[TorqueyTechie]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

I have a domestic flight to catch at 8-20 am this Friday. I stay in Arekere Mico Layout/JP Nagar 7th Phase. Will it be OK to leave by 5-20 am ? How's the availability of Uber early mornings ? Should I book in advance ?

As everyone have suggested 5:30 AM should be good for you to start. If you reach early, you can have a cup of coffee and relax after clearing the security checks.

Dont take Uber/Ola. Last time I had a terrible experience. The cab sent was a bad one and it broke down on the way because of engine heating (no servicing done at all). I had to wait with the cab guy for sometime and finally got another cab and had to go. They don't have a person whom you can contact and have to raise a ticket for every issue. Better to book a meru cab, even that is hit or miss but at-least the cabs are far better.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

Last time I had a terrible experience. The cab sent was a bad one and it broke down on the way because of engine heating...even that is hit or miss but at-least the cabs are far better.

Started using the Airport Bus after a couple of such cab-related incidents. I find them very reliable. And at that time in the morning, virtually no difference in the time taken to reach the airport. Plus the bus drivers operate in shifts so there's a much better chance of him being more alert than a cabbie who has probably been driving long hours. If there's a bus stop near your place, you could consider taking an Airport bus.

[thirumalkumaran]

Originally Posted by Mr_Bean

Avoid Uber and Ola for airport drops. Stick to Meru, book in advance, the driver will normally arrive at your place 10-15 minutes early, cancellations are rare. Meru will be 100-150/- INR costlier when compared to uber/ola.

I would certainly suggest meru. The service might be costlier, but it's a VFM for peace of mind. Note: I travel to airport a lot of times for the past 9 years, and meru never missed a single trip.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

I have a domestic flight to catch at 8-20 am this Friday. I stay in Arekere Mico Layout/JP Nagar 7th Phase. Will it be OK to leave by 5-20 am ? How's the availability of Uber early mornings ? Should I book in advance ?

Apart from Meru/Mega cabs, try Avis airport drop service. Costs almost the same as Meru, but you will get well trained and clean cabs.
Have had good experiences with Avis for my airport travel.

[jaganm]

Originally Posted by am1m

I've had my share of spills in the city, thanks to the bike, including an ACL tear that required surgery. I still can't think of stopping using the bike for the daily commute. I simply don't have the patience to sit in a car every single day in Bangalore traffic. Overall, it probably doesn't make too much of a difference in terms of time (we have a thread on the futility of hasty driving), but the bike does go places that a car can't when it comes to traffic jams. Also, bikes certainly are riskier than cars, but not sure if the risk is as much as the perception. I could be wrong.

You are correct, the way I see some of the car drivers justify it, you would think that just sitting on a two wheeler will make them spontaneously combust and die.

I am very similar in my outlook, enjoy both two wheels and four, but never use my car during the weekly commute. It is just not worth the agony of constantly sitting in traffic and burning huge amount of fuel along the way while struggling for parking at the end. We should be happy that the majority of people do not think that way, imagine the situation on our roads if every two wheeler shifted to car for all their trips.

My pitch to people that I have some influence over is to not treat the car as the only answer to every single transport question. There will be times when a two wheeler or bus or auto will be a better solution, do not close your mind to that. Sadly, many people in our cities have done that