[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by Malyaj

At the cost of sounding dramatic, I will say that Bangalore traffic situation is an emergency, something which requires Central government intervention . We need funds for more buses, to absorb losses and treat it as a public service instead of trying to plan operations around profit. .

There are enough Volvo busses. But the BMTC is not running them since they are not able to recover the operational costs . I had read this in TOI a couple of months ago. They are plying limited busses only to keep the operational costs low

[anandhsub]

Originally Posted by Malyaj

Your observations are correct. I also use BMTC buses on ORR and the frequency of Volvo buses has certainly gone down

Originally Posted by CzechItaliaMoto

If I were to come from Marathahalli to Silk Board, the chances of getting a Volvo is like 1 every hour, and if we want to go to Banashankari, the odds of that route coming is even less! These are my observations, being a regular public transport user.

+1

I no longer have the luxury of waiting for a Volvo given low the frequency have become. However I am seeing more of the Switch electric buses which are more comfortable than the Volvo ( I guess due to them being new) albeit without AC and hence open windows due to which you hear more road noise and is more dusty.

[Malyaj]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

There are enough Volvo busses. But the BMTC is not running them since they are not able to recover the operational costs . I had read this in TOI a couple of months ago. They are plying limited busses only to keep the operational costs low

Yes that is what I really meant, get the grounded buses back on road. We need Central government's help as the traffic is nothing short of a calamity.

[CzechItaliaMoto]

Originally Posted by Malyaj

Yes that is what I really meant, get the grounded buses back on road. We need Central government's help as the traffic is nothing short of a calamity.

I am almost certain that 60-70% of the grounded buses are not in a condition to run, the maintenance of these buses have been neglected ever since COVID hit. Even in the Volvos that i take nowadays, 2 out of 3 of them have a check engine light on and some warning message on the MID.

[neerajku]

With the kind of unprecedented rains, most cities will not be able to face such inflow of water. There is no doubt that drains are limited, non existent, choked and crores go into digging them up. What is concerning is that Rain pattern seems to have dramatically changed the last few years. I can speak for Bangalore. The last two years we ascribed it to Covid, reduced movement, less pollution, and hence changes. Don't know what is it now. I dont remember schools and PU colleges being closed like this time. Or a yellow allert here, like coastal areas. Or Ramanagara a perennially water starved area facing submergence. Not know what else is in store in the coming years.

[Malyaj]

Originally Posted by CzechItaliaMoto

I am almost certain that 60-70% of the grounded buses are not in a condition to run, the maintenance of these buses have been neglected ever since COVID hit. Even in the Volvos that i take nowadays, 2 out of 3 of them have a check engine light on and some warning message on the MID.

Last week I was returning from Passport Office on ORR and had to skip dozens of buses because it was impossible to even step in. Finally a Vayu Vajra came and I could just manage to slip in. The AC wasn't functioning so it was a gas chamber. The driver and conductor were hell bent on packing it further and waited longer than necessary at every bus stop, cajoling more and more people to come in. Some people got in thinking it is normal Vajra service and were loathe to pay higher fare for Vayu Vajra, especially with AC not working, being packed like sardines and getting no benefit of paying higher fare.

I really don't know what is happening with BMTC. Ridership is high so what are they waiting for?

[CzechItaliaMoto]

Originally Posted by Malyaj

Some people got in thinking it is normal Vajra service and were loathe to pay higher fare for Vayu Vajra, especially with AC not working, being packed like sardines and getting no benefit of paying higher fare.

I really don't know what is happening with BMTC. Ridership is high so what are they waiting for?

The interesting part is that the airport buses are the new ones(I'm guessing 2019 built) and they are maintained really well, everything is smooth, zero vibrations. Although, they still charge the pre-COVID fare, which is more than twice of what one would pay for a normal Volvo now. I honestly think BMTC is getting what they wanted, they just degraded their own public transport service which is understandable by all means, because they are shifting to an entirely different project altogether by buying more electric buses.

Hopefully things get better in the next few months.

[airguitar]

What's the status of the flooding pls this morning around ecospace ?

[three10]

Originally Posted by Malyaj

Yes that is what I really meant, get the grounded buses back on road. We need Central government's help as the traffic is nothing short of a calamity.

Walking a fine line between going off topic, and getting into a political debate, but I have to ask.

What wonders are the central govt. going to pull off to solve the traffic problem? BBMP / state govt has enough tax collection and there is nothing preventing them doing the right thing. The blame is on every one IMHO for becoming more greedy and self centered. We complain about the 18-20% road tax on new vehicles, and yet we buy them. The government collects these taxes and we have no idea where it goes.

It’s a catch-22 where people wait for public transport to become better before they prefer that to individual vehicles. On the other hand, there is no real initiative / motivation to rapidly develop public transport till there is considerable patronage. Also, people have a biased outlook towards public transport (reflective of not making/ having financial resources and hence using public transport).

The metro projects going on in various cities are solving the problem, maybe 20 years late. God knows how long it will take for the metro projects to cover a considerable portion of the city.

P.s: no political affiliations, I hate all political parties equally

/end of rant

[BanerjeePupul]

Situation in Bangalore is no different than any other major metro city. [Yes I know traffic here is worst but other metros have some other problem]. We are way too tolerant as a nation. In 2010 I used to cover distance from Banashankari to EMC2 in hardly 45 minutes and now it is on average 2-2.5 hours. What have I done? I have learned to live with it; Like that proverbial frog who was kept in cold water and then gradually water was heated. Life will be usual once this 'Swimming Pool' dries up naturally. We will wait for next hell to happen. Politicians are least bothered about Bangalore.

Current state needs a radical solution. Someone suggested Odd/Even. That will be a good start. I feel Volvo buses should be brought back in huge number with reduced fares. Public transport is not supposed to earn profits. They help the city indirectly in so many ways - reduced pollution, improved health, saving of time etc.

If we add all that up I think Buses are profitable any day. More and more public transport and then step 2- Discourage Private transport by rule. KMs based cess for private vehicles. But anything like Bus Lane, Bike lane without proper enforcement and sufficient public transport will only help someone in Bureaucracy to achieve their targets rather any real change. I would suggest to go even a step further and automate/ privatize Fine process. Not a single 'one way' is respected in Bangalore. We break rules left, right and center. Fine, Fine and fine. This is completely a public created problem. A Good high resolution camera and done.

I hope someone from BBMP office is listening to our suggestions. Lets fix ourselves first before asking authorities to fix everything for us.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by airguitar

What's the status of the flooding pls this morning around ecospace ?

Please see post# 19949 above.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by jeeva

High time for at least the IT folks to prioritise health, clean air, water, peace and some "me time" over the urban lifestyle and the glamour associated with it (if any?). There is no point in continuing the rat race in traffic, office, official lunches, get togethers, sky rocketing real estate prices and rentals, peer pressure, etc..

100% in agreement. Looks like these thoughts are also echoing in many more people. The problem being that many suburban areas (in Bengaluru Rural dt) is also now seeing a sharp increase on flats as well as villa plots. There seems to be a push from every one from the usual IT areas like ORR, Whitefields, HSR etc. And I like the bolded part . These are becoming more like shams, only benefit (!?) spending more time outside the homes.

Originally Posted by SR-71

Unlike other cities, Bangalore is relatively young and had every ample opportunity to have been groomed into a well planned global city.

There are well planned areas even in Bangalore. Jayanagar and even Indira Nagar actually are planned with good roads etc. Problems started when every one (including people who lived in these areas) got greedy and commercialising the whole area. Jayanagar when it was developed had a very well made plan, for parks for shopping complexes and residences etc. It should also be noted that incidents of flooding etc are more on privately developed (!?) layouts with very fancy names.

Originally Posted by CzechItaliaMoto

The problem with public transport(BMTC) is that they do not know how to release the amount of buses they have in an organized manner. Every time we get a bus, there would be 2-3 of them coming together wherein one of them is completely crowded and the other two are more or less empty.

A problem which I observed during the days when I was a daily commuter in BMTC. They have a plan to run buses from Majestic to say Attibele or Anekal (example). All of them start from Majestic at their pre-determined times. Due to the traffic situations the gap between them narrows before they reach Madivala PS area. And from then on it would be like a convoy of buses to Attibele or Anekal. And then once this convoy passes, there is a long wait. BMTC is trying their best by running shorter routes (like say EC to Madivala, or Anekal to Madivala etc.).

Originally Posted by three10

IMHO, the most effective way to kick everyone into action is if the MNC’s decide to leave en masse.

It is not that these MNCs are angels. They too get tax benefits by 'exporting software' from SEZ. A big time IT company has this habit of changing offices every 10 years, to 'export software' from the new buildings. They do it to get tax benefits (as SEZ tax benefits are only for the initial 7 or 10 years). So if MNCs issue a threat of leaving enmasse, Govt can hit back by removing the tax benefits as well.

[three10]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

It is not that these MNCs are angels. They too get tax benefits by 'exporting software' from SEZ. A big time IT company has this habit of changing offices every 10 years, to 'export software' from the new buildings. They do it to get tax benefits (as SEZ tax benefits are only for the initial 7 or 10 years). So if MNCs issue a threat of leaving enmasse, Govt can hit back by removing the tax benefits as well.

Nothing’s stopping these companies from reducing their office footprint. SEZ benefits are not dependent on the amount of office space required.

Just to give an example, my office in Pune has around 12,000 employees who have Pune as their base location. We used to have 5 office buildings pre pandemic. Now we occupy part of a building space that has capacity for around 2500 people.

People have been asked to come into office for at least once a week, but it’s really not very strict. For people like me who doesn’t have a team in India, it doesn’t matter if I zoom from home or office. The last time I worked a full day in office was Feb 25, 2020 (�� somehow remember the date exactly). I haven’t seen the inside of an office since then.

What I meant to say was that it’s not very difficult for companies to move to this model unless they own the office space they work out of. Most of the spaces are leased.

[darkchild82]

Originally Posted by how_you_doing

I have said this at many forums and I always get heavily downvoted.

The only solution is to pool money and forms a private body that takes care of these civic affairs.

If there is not enough traffic police, have private security to guide the road traffic. Have a private company taking care of drainage and water pumps for few weeks.

I also think BBMP should be privatized as they just don't have the skill, management, or desire to serve the world's fastest-growing city.

LOL, in which world are you living in? You new to India/Bengaluru? The corrupt will NEVER hand over their CASH COW to private developers. The corrupt established parties have been milking infra contracts for DECADES now. Here's an interview of contractors standing outside Vidhana Soudha complaining about the 40% commission they are force to pay to the netas and officials: https://twitter.com/ndtv/status/1564633867474022400

Let this be a lesson for all who never voted for BBMP/municpal elections and the few that did, voted along religious lines instead actual infrastructure improvement talk. After elections, everyone complains!

[mayukh42]

Originally Posted by BanerjeePupul

Situation in Bangalore is no different than any other major metro city. [Yes I know traffic here is worst but other metros have some other problem].

We can ignore non-traffic issues of other metros in this thread. BLR is really bad because of narrow roads. The arterial roads here are similar to interior roads of others. Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Delhi all have much wider roads. Take the Old Airport Road e.g. - and then compare it with AJC Bose Road Kolkata or Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road Mumbai, you'll get the idea. Or Hosur Road with Western Express Highway.

BLR Roads are planned in width for less population. Main roads are 120 ft at most, whereas in other cities they are 200 ft or higher. On an 80ft busy road, parking on both sides further narrow usable space.

There are couple of solutions to this -
1. have mass rapid transport lines. This is being done in phases, but not prioritised properly. The first metro line was opened between Byappanhalli and MG Road - can you imagine the first line in Silicon Valley of India not covering any major Tech corridors and residential areas? That line had more crowd on weekends (people would ride the metro for amusement than necessity). The first lines should have been ORR, Whitefield, EC, and then others.

2. fan out residential areas and satellite townships. Instead of 10 tech parks on one ORR, why not put some in Nagasandra or Kengeri. If this was the case, other than Metro we could also have used the potential of suburban railway.

A retiree's paradise suddenly became tech capital without supporting infrastructure. They could have left the city alone and developed Hoskote/ Doddaballapura/ Nelamangala/ Bidadi instead, connect them with suburban trains and metro. They developed Yelahanka and Kengeri, but how many tech parks are well accessible from there? You won't see any worse infra planning in other cities, irrespective of how well they are known globally.

Originally Posted by BanerjeePupul

Odd/Even.

This won't work here, there is not enough space on the road for cops to enforce

Originally Posted by BanerjeePupul

Discourage Private transport by rule. KMs based cess for private vehicles.

This will bring govt. less revenue, so won't be passed.

Originally Posted by BanerjeePupul

go even a step further and automate/ privatize Fine process.

Agree. People break rules because they can get away without consequences.

Originally Posted by sachinpk

Problems started when every one (including people who lived in these areas) got greedy and commercialising the whole area.

Koramangala is full of it. It clogs the roads because a commercial space needs more car parking space which they don't provide, so the road gets owned as ancestral property by the day.

Originally Posted by sachinpk

get tax benefits (as SEZ tax benefits are only for the initial 7 or 10 years). So if MNCs issue a threat of leaving enmasse, Govt can hit back by removing the tax benefits as well.

I remember some well established companies asking for SEZ tax benefits in Kolkata to start their campus, which I do not support at all. Tax benefits should only be for startups, not established ones.