[condor]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

The issue is the government thinks only the taxi guys can strike. I think private employees should all get together enmasse and stage a frightening road roko along the entire outer ring road and bring these guys to their knees. And enforce a city wide bandh on going to work too. Bring all these guys to their knees!

And what will they demand ?

How many 000's of them ? How many of the IT folks vote (here) ?

Better transportation or less traffic ? The metro is under construction. People can take that.

From what the cops said, one reason for the rush was these people trying to get home and head out for the weekend starting today. (Id Milad + possible bandh on Friday, and then 3 days).

https://www.deccanherald.com/india/k...CnLOCMzTq5p_6Y

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by condor

And what will they demand ?

How many 000's of them ? How many of the IT folks vote (here) ?

Better transportation or less traffic ? The metro is under construction. People can take that.

From what the cops said, one reason for the rush was these people trying to get home and head out for the weekend starting today. (Id Milad + possible bandh on Friday, and then 3 days).

Better roads
Better traffic management
Reorganise bus stops to prevent traffic snarls
Ban trucks and heavy vehicles from entering the city between 5 am and 11 pm
Street lighting on ALL roads
Public conveniences on ALL arterial roads
Work from Home mandatory 50% of the work week
4 day work week
Legalise all car pooling apps
Congestion tax on all cab hailing apps
Mandatory bicycle lane on ALL arterial roads
Any company over 50 employees has to pick up and drop employees using electric bus shuttles (not cabs) until the metro connection is sorted. Even then last mile drop off to the metro from business park has to be via electric bus shuttles.
Cops to be posted every odd km on arterial roads to check the menace of new gangs out to scam us.

Want more? I think its time everyone here grew a spine and got out onto the streets. Thats how things work - EVEN in the FIRST world! Bring on the dark knight vibes.

I will join

[am1m]

Originally Posted by capnemo

My friend's kid's bus started from 2.45 pm and reached home around 5.10 pm for a distance of 9 km.

That is heartbreaking. Kids shouldn't have to suffer for this mess. Effective schooling can't be done online. IT jobs can. Why don't we leave the roads for those who really need to use them?!

Originally Posted by capnemo

...they are in the process of constructing 2 more huge office buildings.

That was what pushed me to leave that area. I worked at 'Eco'World (nothing Eco about it!) for 3 years. As it is, it used to take anything up to 1 hour on a good day for 12km, 2-3 hours when it rained and more than 20 mins just to enter/leave the campus. Then I saw they were constructing another office building. Add another 5000 employees and cars! That was my breaking-point. Started saving money so that I could quit and leave that accursed place even without a job. Then covid happened, so I escaped for 2 years. Once the company started showing signs about mandating a return to work, managed to get a job where the management was more enlightened and allowed remote work. Took a pay cut, but totally worth it! My life is SO much better now without having to see the ORR for the past 3 years!

Originally Posted by Red Liner

The issue is the government thinks only the taxi guys can strike.

They are correct.

Originally Posted by condor

And what will they demand ?

Bit hard to make demands when it's our vehicles that are causing the issue.

Originally Posted by condor

From what the cops said, one reason for the rush was...

Yesterday might have been exceptional, but 3 years commuting on the ORR, I can say jams are the norm. I've been stuck in jams at 7:30 am and at 10:30pm. I used to have all 3 meals at work. Used to hang back till the jam outside my office cleared, took hours sometimes. And that was just the driveway. And all that was before Covid, before the Metro construction even started. Can't imagine what it's like now.

[VaibhaoT]

Originally Posted by airbus

Received on WhatsApp: Life on ORR

Somehow I loved the attitude of that person. You cant do anything in this situation, so just chill on flyover.

My home is 1.1 KM from my office in Bellandur & took me around 40 minutes yesterday. Luckily for me there is no U turn.
Sad part is, this is not my worst timing. Last year it took 2 hours from Agara till my home which is slightly more than 2 KM.

[condor]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Want more? I think its time everyone here grew a spine and got out onto the streets. Thats how things work - EVEN in the FIRST world! Bring on the dark knight vibes.

I will join

Why just join ? Start it and make it happen - get in all the IT folks across the city for a strike all the way from Prestige Tech Park to Kalyani to BLR East to Manyata to Bhartiya City

Originally Posted by am1m

Bit hard to make demands when it's our vehicles that are causing the issue. .

Cant argue with that, can we

Traffic has been getting bad for quite some time. Growing population and many other reasons all coming together.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by condor

Why just join ? Start it and make it happen - get in all the IT folks across the city for a strike all the way from Prestige Tech Park to Kalyani to BLR East to Manyata to Bhartiya City

Cant argue with that, can we

Traffic has been getting bad for quite some time. Growing population and many other reasons all coming together.

Isn't this a start then? Are you against a "movement" calling for basic rights for which we already pay by bleeding our noses? There are groups like Whitefield rising etc, but the issue is unless there is mass mobilisation nobody will even look in our direction. Satirical feedback is not solicited, thanks. And why is it only IT folks? You think nobody else lives here? I am NON IT. What does that make me? Cattle class? (no offence to my beloved bovine friends).

Every great dictator the world has ever seen was almost always brought down by his own people. Taking things lying down only works for so long.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by am1m

Seriously, how long is it going to take for these IT companies to realize that the commute in Bangalore really doesn't make sense anymore? For jobs that can be done remote and were being done for 2 years during covid.

Never, I guess.

It should be a slap on every HR and Management who decide to still move into the Ecospace region and feel they can call employees to office for 2-3 days a week. After opening of Embassy Tech Village and some campuses surrounding Ecospace, the situation is bad. Imagine you have a two lane service road to cater to so many companies and they have to enter and exit the main ORR Carriageway in poorly designed and random exits. The Government and planning authorities can be blamed for their lack of foresight. But as a tenant, cant these people decide on a location that has better infra and connectivity? Or if they really need to work out of this area, why insist on employees attending office.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by audioholic

It should be a slap on every HR and Management who decide to still move into the Ecospace region and feel they can call employees to office for 2-3 days a week.

(already posted this on the wfh thread but...) It's just like politicians of today and the rajas of old. The policies they make rarely affect them. How many of these head honchos drive/ride themselves to work everyday? The office I used to work at, out of the esteemed 'decision makers' who made the office shift to the ORR- one had a villa in the same campus, one spent most of his time in the US, and one was chauffeur-driven (on the rare days he showed up to the office).

So why should they care?

(Having said that, I believe that company is now a lot more flexible on remote work, after a lot of employees quit citing the horrible commute as a reason. I was one too! )

[MyTucson2021]

I overtook over 100 cars yesterday (27-Sept evening, ORR Traffic) and that too, on foot!! :-))

What worries me are
(1) There are scores of illegal construction still going on in the Bellandur area. Smaller office complexes are being built and quickly occupied even in the residential areas along Bellandur (eg inside Greenglen Layout).

(2) The space between the flyovers on ORR are becoming even narrower due to Metro pillars. Will the passages be drivable in future? Looks like we will be stuck with 1-lane service roads bordering the flyovers if we go on surface level.

[hamster]

Oh Bangalore !!! Feel sorry for your folks, really.

I was there a few weeks back with my family. My wife was excited on the onward towards Bangalore from Chennai and on the return, she said, no, not again. Thus is the impact it has created just over two days.

Few things noticed as and ex-Bangalore and currently and as an outsider for Bangalore over the last 7 years:

There are more number of IT Parks/tall buildings which has sprung up in even bylanes, and more are in the stages of getting built. There are apartments, villas constructed around it, expecting to be sold. We could justify why and from where the push for back to office is coming up.
Wondering where will everyone go for water by turn of this decade ?

Non arterial roads are still the same, narrow, but lots of houses, commercial complexes have sprung up. Narrow and winding railway crossings (example - Channapannahalli, Kagadaspura etc) which only cascades the traffic jam till ORR. Why cant there be straight roads instead of winding roads and avoid manned/gated level crossings. What does it take for the government to think of this which would be alternative routes.

When I arrived in Bangalore in 2004 and it used to chilly in the mornings in September itself and we had to pull out our sweaters, jackets etc all the way till early March. Fast forward, 2015/2016, we remember pulling out our jackets from the attic only in December and January.
The city has been attracting talent and investors from outside primarily on its weather and dont think it will be its USP anymore. The traffic is only fueling this faster.

All these explosion of growth, neta and babu's greediness and exploitation, is indeed bringing the wonderful city to its knees and its tax paying citizens.
And again, this isnt isolated to Bangalore alone. But this very same thread is active every other day, compared to traffic threads of Pune and Chennai, speaks a lot.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by capnemo

I wonder how bad things are going to get in the next 5 years. For instance, near the Embassy tech park, they are in the process of constructing 2 more huge office buildings. There is one more, what looks like a mall, on the back road. And a huge green patch behind Embassy is going to occupy a large paying-guest complex, a premium Sobha project and yet another large tech park whose foundation has not yet been laid. The connectivity for all of this is a narrow 2 lane road that already caters to Embassy Tech park, Cessna, New horizon college and serves as a shortcut to ORR for Sarjapur residents. Hats off to the urban planning committee.

There's also the mammoth Prestige tech park coming on the Bellandur Lake road. That road has no direct connectivity with the ORR and the only arterial roads to that plot is already choked on a normal traffic day and even weekends. Another example of excellent town planning!

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by NPV

Work from home is definitely most productive when compared to such days of horrible commutes.

My work place still has a hybrid model for working. And with that experience, I can clearly say my productivity is better if I am at home. I am generally an early bird. I actually login at 0900Hrs and most of my planned work actually gets over by lunch time. Where as the day I commute to office, for all practical part I only begin work at 1000Hrs. And by the time I get back, too tired to do any thing else.

Originally Posted by am1m

For jobs that can be done remote and were being done for 2 years during covid.

Can't blame them for being opportunists. During COVID times they had no other way as companies had committments and had to get work going. Now they want life to go the old way. But employees have now tasted the honey from "Work From Home" honeypot. A hybrid work model may be the best, IMHO.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I think private employees should all get together enmasse and stage a frightening road roko along the entire outer ring road and bring these guys to their knees. And enforce a city wide bandh on going to work too. Bring all these guys to their knees!

1. The private companies themselves will ensure that the employees do not get a chance to get together en-masse. "Productivity" loss is a problem for them.
2. And if ORR gets blocked, it is would only impact the IT folks. The government and key officials operate from the "old" Bangalore area where life is actually much more relaxing.
3. Tomorrow there is a state wide Bandh. How many employees in IT Industry (including people who are Kannadigas or otherwise) will have the courage to inform their superiors that they are boycotting work as they are participating in the Bandh !? Instead of that all would meekly say that they will work from home.

So putting all points together, private employees mainly in the IT field will not be able to cause any much damage especially through Bandhs etc. This group was never united, not united even now, and will not be united in the future as well. The whole working model, models of recruitment, salary etc are not condusive for union-ised workforce.

[DetectiveMiles]

Looks like Car pooling is going to be much of hassle.
Transport department is looking to crackdown on apps like QuickRide

Following complaints from taxi drivers, the transport department has decided to take action against carpooling using mobile application platforms like Quick Ride and others. Techies and professionals working in IT corridors have been using carpooling to beat traffic congestion and save up on transportation costs

The transport department says that using
private vehicles (white board) for commercial
purposes is illegal.

Advocates of carpooling services argue that it is
one of the most effective solutions for easing
traffic congestion and reducing fuel
consumption.

Contrary to the stand taken by the transport
department, several g overnment agencies in
the city have been endorsing carpooling by tech
parks and other stakeholders. However, the
state government is yet to formulate a clear
policy on this.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../104001214.cms

[PreludeSH]

We are building massive ROBs/tunnel highways (mostly in North) One such investment along ORR will solve lot of things. Its time central govt spends on areas that earn precious foreign exchange for our country.

[Malyaj]

Originally Posted by PreludeSH

We are building massive ROBs/tunnel highways (mostly in North) One such investment along ORR will solve lot of things. Its time central govt spends on areas that earn precious foreign exchange for our country.

It's not just foreign exchange, but Bangalore is one of the biggest employers in the country. People from all over are coming to Bangalore. It is a national city by any yardstick, and it deserves better funding from the centre. That kind of pampering cannot be restricted to Delhi anymore.