[mazda4life]

I feel that a good and enthusiastic officer can energize the police force ( Mr Sood ) and make their presence felt. I would hazard a guess that the current government is least bothered about all this and want their occasional forays outside of the CBD, Kumarakrupa and Sadhsivnagar as easy as possible.

[bvasista]

Originally Posted by achilles101

^^^ what about Ola Auto? They go by the fare displayed in the app.. no haggling and peace of mind if the ride is accepted by the auto driver.

Even I thought using Ola/Uber auto should be good for last mile connectivity. I should say, out of 10 attempts to book Ola auto, booked successfully twice or thrice utmost. The problem is that, at first attempt, app shows its nearby like - within 5 mins and then confirm a booking. Couple of mins later, it gets cancelled and searches for some other auto in the vicinity.

I have tried them in Chennai and Hyderabad and I found difficulty in finding Ola autos even when I was in good populated and shopping areas through Ola & Uber. Its been a long time that I visited Bangalore and don't have Ola/Uber experience in here.

Not sure why they advertise big on "auto bole toh ola auto"

Originally Posted by sdp1975

My wife sometimes takes an auto from home to Silk Board in peak office hours. She tells me that the Ola auto fares are like 140-150 whereas if you negotiate with them it will be in the range of 100-120. The meter fare would be about 90 , or maybe a little more taking into account the wait time in traffic.

This is true. Couple of times during my failed attempts to book Ola auto, I took auto normally without a meter in Hyderabad. They directly quoted lesser price than what was shown in Ola.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by am1m

Remembered a couple of more anecdotes around interactions with autos in Mumbai as opposed to Bangalore from my early trips to Maximum City....In Mumbai, they get into the auto first and then tell the driver where they want to go, since there's not much chance he'll refuse.

So true! I and my friends were frantically trying to stop an auto outside of the CST in Mumbai and autos were literally pouring one by one, coming out of the station. The drivers would see that we were trying to talk to them and they would decide in a fraction of a second to move on to the next Mumbaikar who would get in without a word. A woman then advised us to just hop in and then tell the autowallah where to go! That's so unlike what we Chennaites and Bangaloreans are used to. I am not surprised at all when someone mentions the high utilization of public transport in Mumbai; meanwhile, for want of an autorickshaw, the battle for public transport dominance is lost in other cities.

[binand]

Originally Posted by locusjag

I and my friends were frantically trying to stop an auto outside of the CST in Mumbai

This can't be right. In Mumbai autos aren't allowed to ply in areas south of Sion/Bandra.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by binand

This can't be right. In Mumbai autos aren't allowed to ply in areas south of Sion/Bandra.

It was way back in 2011 that we got down at what I presume to be the CST. It was an overnight train from Bangalore to Mumbai. It could've been some other station as well...I just assumed that the CST is the only major station there!

[binand]

Originally Posted by locusjag

It was way back in 2011 that we got down at what I presume to be the CST. It was an overnight train from Mangalore to Mumbai. It could've been some other station as well...I just assumed that the CST is the only major station there!

Autos are not allowed beyond Sion/Bandra for as long as I can remember. I went to Mumbai in 1991.

There are 6 train termini in Mumbai - 3 on Western Railway that wouldn't see trains from south, and 3 on Central Railway of which two (CST & Dadar) are in the auto exclusion zone. So the only station that fits your description is LTT (Kurla). Both Netravati & Matsyagandha do terminate at LTT so that is probably the station you are talking about.

Though my memories of LTT all feature uncharacteristically uncouth autowallas. :-) So much so that people'd prefer to walk the few hundred metres to Tilak Nagar or attempt dangerous track crossing to Vidyavihar suburban stations.

Edit: If from Bangalore, then Udyan terminates at CST and Chalukya at Dadar. The only possibility is then Coimbatore-LTT express which reaches Mumbai mid-afternoon.

[swissknife]

Originally Posted by binand

This can't be right. In Mumbai autos aren't allowed to ply in areas south of Sion/Bandra.

I was wondering the same. I have known it to be that way for ever.

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by drive2eternity

Why can't BTP enforce simple no-stopping, no-parking rules for these monsters. At least move them to the service lane. I am aware of the pathetic jams these buses cause on Friday evenings at the same place, but was caught by surprise when I saw this happening on a Wednesday night.

Seems washing hands-off everything is the only thing BTP does best.

The only way out will be to shift the BMTC and other commercial vehicles into an alternate universe. Or at least give them a dedicated lane, but unlike elsewhere, they must be restricted to that lane only. Let the drivers fight among themselves.

[Dead Head]

Originally Posted by kutlee

Well said there mate..Its not in Blore alone. Its worse like the same here in HYD. No wonder why our PM was frusturated when he visited Blore. I think the underlying fact which causes this are no respect for others, always in a hurry (i think even our PM can wait for signal) and unruly and unworthy driving schools. I like the traffic fine list. But insist on adding couple of more zeroes to it so even though the 'citizens' love to bribe, still they should end up paying good amount of money. I think its high time all these so called driving shools should be closed. The basics of anything starts from the school. Eventhough we have cameras whats the use. Capture the vehichle number, send fine chellan through post to the offender and unless he pays (bribes), confiscate the vehichle. I know there are many hurdles but it should start soon i think. otherwise all the so called 'drivers' pumped out from the schools, will be too much to handle. I think we are going in a very very wrong direction...

I think Mumbai takes the cake these days, added to the enormous number of vehicles ( never seen so many autos & 2 wheelers) the road widths are cut to half due to the ongoing Metro construction. Cars routinely deliver averages like 4 to 5 km per litre- what a waste !!

[am1m]

Double-parking Sundays!

Noticed this the past couple of weeks, the patrons of a particular restaurant seem to think that it's perfectly ok to double park while they have lunch! I guess since it's a Sunday, they think nothing wrong with it. All shiny new big cars, so fair to think all must be well-to-do and educated. There's a hospital right next to the restaurant. Wonder what will happen when an ambulance needs to make a quick turn and there's also some traffic on that road, since our double-parked friends have left just about one lane free, of a pretty wide road. Funnily enough, there's a Metro station nearby. But of course for a person who can't even park his car and walk to the restaurant, how can we expect his highness to use a train and walk a bit more?! Naturally his family needs to be dropped and picked up right outside their destination! Other road users can go to...

This is why I'm skeptical about road-widening proposals. Not like the roads are being used efficiently. After we cut down all our trees and cover every inch with tar, we'll still be stuck in jams.

Seriously time to think differently. Encourage public transport AND discourage private transport on roads already connected by a metro line.

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by am1m

Double-parking Sundays!

...
seem to think that it's perfectly ok to double park while they have lunch! I guess since it's a Sunday, they think nothing wrong with it. All shiny new big cars, so fair to think all must be well-to-do and educated.

Same case around Lalbagh, where "morning walk" types block the roads with their cars. But its not a car thing, its the attitude.

[Mr_Bean]

Originally Posted by mvadg

Same case around Lalbagh, where "morning walk" types block the roads with their cars. But its not a car thing, its the attitude.

Definitely the attitude, there is plenty of paid parking space behind the govt museum, yet majority choose to park it on the main road in no parking zones.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by mvadg

Same case around Lalbagh, where "morning walk" types block the roads with their cars. But its not a car thing, its the attitude.

Haha, that's ironic- so they want to walk for the exercise, but they can't park where they ought to and...walk to Lalbagh!

True it's the attitude issue of people. But looking around at the state of traffic in our cities, it's not likely that driver 'education' is going to ever be the solution. Maybe it's time to start planning our urban landscapes with a 'mass transport + pedestrian first' approach. Obviously no city can ever abolish private transport. But like a lot of well planned cities, just prioritize public transport and walking/cycling infra. Which also means reducing the space, parking, and zones available to private vehicles. Just give people a choice with a good public transport alternative. After that, those who still want to use the car/motorbike in a city when it continues to become more expensive, cumbersome and time-consuming to do so, their call.

One more thing to factor in is the low cost of labour in our country. Even if there is a good public transport option and traffic increases, more people will just hire drivers and continue to use their private vehicles. (Once the Ola/Uber dream goes bust, there will be a lot of drivers looking for work.)

[NPV]

Folks, need some route guidance for a friend whose son is appearing for an entrance test, they're unfamiliar with Bangalore:
Location on hall ticket says
PES University
PESSAT Test Centre (next to main entrance gate)
100 feet ring road, BSK III stage,
Bangalore - 560085

This is the PES campus off Outer Ring Road near Nayandahalli/Hoskerehalli and not the old PES college campus on 100 feet road, Hanumanthanagar/Girinagar right ?

Since it's on a weekday at 2pm, I think I will suggest taking the metro to Nayandahalli and then an auto/cab to reach PES campus. Makes sense ?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by NPV

This is the PES campus off Outer Ring Road near Nayandahalli/Hoskerehalli and not the old PES college campus on 100 feet road, Hanumanthanagar/Girinagar right ?

Yes, you are right. The old one is in BSK Stage 1.

Since it's on a weekday at 2pm, I think I will suggest taking the metro to Nayandahalli and then an auto/cab to reach PES campus. Makes sense ?

Perfect advise I feel. It is hardly a distance from Nayandahalli Metro Station to PESIT campus near NICE Road entrance and Autos should charge the minimal fare.