[itwasntme]

Reminder that GGPalya to Nelamangala toll flyover is closed from 16-19 January.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Except for these, public transport in Bangalore is fairly reliable.

The autos. I always regret this missed chance. I am very confident that if the autos worked well, like they should- no refusal, a good chance of getting an auto at meter rates anytime of the day, we wouldn't see so many vehicles on the road. Given Bangalore's narrow side roads, a Metro line for the main roads + auto for last-mile connectivity could cover a lot of the city. I still hope it can happen, there are a lot more auto guys more willing to ply now and app usage is catching on, but overall the auto unions are a law unto themselves and no government will stand up to them.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by am1m

When I ride my bike, cars are the problem. When I drive my car, bikes are the problem. When I take the metro and walk, cars and bikes are the problem. Of course "I" am never a part of the problem!

Ha ha! This is believe it or not EXACTLY what I was talking to my Dad about, a couple weeks ago or so.
Absolutely Verbatim. We humans are selfish by nature. We need to go ahead at all costs and to the devil with the hind-most. And that’s what’s manifesting itself all over the place, rants, road rage, etc.

But then, most of us do pay our taxes and therefore, would like to believe that we are owed at least proper infrastructure by our Govt.

Yesterday I had a little work along the Outer Ring Road. And on my return journey I was just absorbing the incredible unsightly rash of construction, chaos of traffic and choking dust all around apart from the fact that more or less the entire road surface from the Mahadevapura area up to HSR Layout, was patchy, broken and full of imperfections, potholes, sharp edges and so on..

This includes those wondrous and delightful bridges/ overpasses where large parts of the road surface has simply peeled or broken off and the roughness on those bridges and exposed expansion joints, as a consequence of poor workmanship, is to be encountered to be believed. And this pocket probably has the maximum concentration of tax paying IT folks.

Taxes as I have said many times before, represent an investment on our part, which offers lowest or even negative ROI in India. But then Nothing is Permanent, as Benjamin Franklin said many an aeon ago, But Death and Taxes.

I truly wonder whether if ever, our city of Bangalore will come out of this quagmire of corruption driven chaos. And the best part is that all of us common citizens are simply so apathetic and accepting of these circumstances, when we ought to be at the Gates of the Ministerial Residences and demanding hard immediate action. But then, as I ve also remarked earlier, we just go and buy SUV’s to cocoon ourselves. (I was in my Thar and was able to ‘smash through the chaos’ for the most part and even then I was feeling all those road imperfections.)
Our innate conditioning is such that we are all seekers of Nirvana for the Self, and to the Devil with the Rest!

[itwasntme]

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/in...71891.html/amp

Modi is scheduled to reach Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru at 2:10 pm on January 19. Meanwhile, Bengaluru traffic police announced traffic diversion on Hennur - -Bagalur Road (new airport road) and other roads leading to KIA on January 19 from 8 am to 6 pm due to the PM's visit.

[puntra800]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/in...71891.html/amp

Modi is scheduled to reach Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru at 2:10 pm on January 19. Meanwhile, Bengaluru traffic police announced traffic diversion on Hennur - -Bagalur Road (new airport road) and other roads leading to KIA on January 19 from 8 am to 6 pm due to the PM's visit.

I would take the police announcement with a pinch of Salt. Last time when the PM came they said all the roads will be closed leading to ISRO in Peenya and NICE road will be open for traffic, I chose to take NICE road to reach Tumkur road(This is at around 4AM in the morning) and voila as I was about to cross Mysore road I was asked to exit NICE road, assuming it might be due to some bridge repair took the exit only to be prevented by cops from re-entering NICE road. I asked the Cops I want to reach Tumkur road and as per your notice the ORR is blocked and from 4AM to 9AM what do I do, he plainly says "Gothilla, mundhe Saayabru irthare keli" (I dont know, ask my senior ahead). I proceed and ask him, he says take the city road, I was like . All the drama at 4AM and loss of good 1 hour thanks to the hopeless co ordination.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by puntra800

I would take the police announcement with a pinch of Salt.

Agree, can be very irritating be it work or personal commitments.

In this case, I believe the initial plan is for him not to even venture out of the Boeing & other aerospace engineering campuses. I understand the road closures is to allow dignitaries to meet him smoothly.

[Sudhindra]

Originally Posted by M77

My recent visit to bangalore, was apalling to say the least.
I wasn't concerned with the number of vehicles, but the way people
drove in them. Its really a shame and reflects on the kind of people,
bangalore has become a place for now.

It does not matter if you built 10 lane highways, these guys will still
drive like idiots. Unless, the society and its people has some form of self
discipline, its no use making a hundred different laws.

17 Years have gone by for this thread and the city has undergone so many changes and yes, the current situation has gone from bad to sad.

However, there are issues concerning heavy traffic in every major city in the world, isn`t it? And Bengaluru is in no exception. Yet the ranting doesn`t stop.

1) In Bengaluru, the time taken to travel from Yelahanka New Town to Prestige Tech Park (ORR) for 31 Kms in car at peak hour traffic is approx. 65 to 70 minutes whereas return journey is around 75 to 90 minutes. You all know how this stretch is and I don`t need to explain in detail. For those who are not aware, this stretch has several traffic hotspots. Out of 3 Lanes, one lane is occupied for Metro construction work. You have Trucks, slow moving commercial vehicles, BMTC buses, Autos, potholes. In a way, its chaos.

2) In Delhi NCR, the time taken to travel from Sector 134, Noida to Patel Nagar (Delhi) 31 Kms in car at peak hour traffic is approx. 70 to 80 minutes whereas return journey is around 90 to 100 minutes. This route has superb tarmac & wide roads (10 lanes), no Trucks/ light commercial vehicles, less auto Wallas and DTC buses occupying the roads, not much construction activities (already completed) and yet it's horrible to drive here. And add to this, insane road behaviors with that hooligan looks mostly by educated folks, severe pollution levels, unbearable cold/heat weather.
Ok, to be fair, let us consider travel time within Delhi alone. It takes close approx. 60 minutes from Patel Nagar to exit Pragati Maidan Tunnel.

Now, you may say that Delhi scores big interms of public transport mainly metro services. I agree that Delhi metro has a vast coverage but is nowhere comfortable and faster than Bengaluru Metro, at least Phases 1& 2. Let me draw one more comparison here.

1) In Bengaluru, the time taken to travel between Nagasandra to Yelchenahalli via Metro is 47 minutes (non-peak hours) excluding passenger boarding/deboarding and is 42 minutes (Peak hours) for a total of 24 stations. The Stations, coaches are maintained well.

2) In Delhi, the time taken to travel between Patel Nagar to Sector 18 Noida via Metro is 45 minutes (non-peak hours) excluding passenger boarding/deboarding and is 55 minutes (Peak hours) for a total of 17 stations. The Stations, coaches are maintained bad and are in poor condition.

Interms of city buses, BMTC wins hands down. Condition of DTC buses? The less said is better. Seen several breakdowns of these DTC buses.

To sum it up, Bengaluru is not as bad as people portray it to be. I have spent more than 20 years driving in this beautiful city and I can proudly say that I enjoy driving here even with all its shortfalls.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Sudhindra

I am of the opinion that this thread is merely here to tarnish the image of brand Bengaluru.

Nope, it's a place for some of us to let off steam by ranting. (Which is the thread title.)

Originally Posted by Sudhindra

Also, I am appalled to see that there are no such similar threads for other cities (if it exists, I don`t see them quite often)

My guess is a lot of people who post on this thread are Bangalore IT folks. We have jobs that allow us to sit connected all day and post! So naturally you will see more posts on this topic.

Nothing stopping anyone from starting a similar thread on other city's traffic situation (and I agree with you, I think other cities, like Mumbai for example, now have as bad traffic as Bangalore). Or starting a thread on what are the good things to enjoy about Bangalore traffic.

But certainly it is not some conspiracy to "tarnish Bangalore"!

I was born in Bangalore, been living here over 4 decades, driving/riding here for over 2 decades, and I love the city. But I hate the traffic. I certainly don't think (anyone, from anywhere) complaining about the traffic is slandering the city in any way. The state of traffic here is a matter of fact. And we are all entitled to our own opinions.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Modi is scheduled to reach Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru at 2:10 pm on January 19. Meanwhile, Bengaluru traffic police announced traffic diversion on Hennur - -Bagalur Road (new airport road) and other roads leading to KIA on January 19 from 8 am to 6 pm due to the PM's visit.

From the BTP X feed:

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Sudhindra

However, there are issues concerning heavy traffic in every major city in the world, isn`t it? And Bengaluru is in no exception. Yet the ranting doesn`t stop.

I am of the opinion that this thread is merely here to tarnish the image of brand Bengaluru. I mean, there are other cities in India facing major traffic, general behavioral patterns (civic sense) that you have mentioned and it's not that one gets to face all these atrocities in Bengaluru alone. I don't understand why Bengaluru deserves this special treatment(ranting).

Nothing about tarnishing image; this thread reflects the on-ground situation as it is. What it comes down to the temperament of the people and their expectations. Similar to your example of Delhi, Bombay has equally bad or even worse traffic jams on a daily basis. You don't see a Bombay traffic rant thread because the people there have assumed that to be part and parcel of their daily life and live accordingly. You wouldn't see a guy traveling from Airoli to Colaba (for the same ~37 kms distance) in a car in Bombay but you'll see Bangalore folks attempting such distances in their cars on a daily basis. Also Bangalore folks seem to be more "optimistic" of the future state, to put it nicely and come out here with all guns blazing when those expectations keep getting let down.

P.s. There are similar traffic related rant threads for Pune & Chennai. Just that the forum population ranting on those threads is much lesser!

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Sudhindra

all its shortfalls. I get to see my city changing, nice weather and new additions on daily basis along with insane folks (carrying the same personality traits from wherever migrate from) lacking driving skills or civic sense and attempt to tarnish the image of Bengaluru (Read being Victims of Road rage etc..).

Note to You and the Mods:

This is not a fair comment to make at all. It reflects a somewhat narrow view and a parochial mind-set because of the implied suggestion being made here, that all ‘migrants’ have poor personality traits ‘brought with them from wherever they came from’ and that the rants on road rage and the victims of it are attempts to ‘tarnish the image of Brand Bengaluru’.

Sorry, but those kinds of statements just do not hold water.

There is good and bad everywhere. Amongst the ranks of the ‘immigrants’ as well as the ‘locals’. Neither is ‘holier than the next’ if truth be told.

Everyone is entitled to rant on this thread about ‘the infrastructure woes’ because these infrastructure woes are an inescapable fact! They can’t be said to have been created by the ‘immigrants’!

Remember that most big cities in the world are literally ‘made’ by immigrants. The much-touted ‘Brand Bengaluru’ also owes this in part at least, to its immigrant population. The ‘immigrants’ also pay their taxes and support the economy and therefore are perfectly entitled to expect peace, law and order and safety. As tax-payers, everyone, including the ‘immigrants’ are also entitled to expect a reasonable ROI by way of decent road surfaces, decent public infrastructure, and an ‘acceptance’ by the local people. After all, we do preach ‘Athithi Devo Bhava’ and all that don’t we?

Educated and cultured folks ought not to get into this kind of parochialism and linguistic chauvinism. At least those on a forum like this are definitely a cut above the common herd or are aspiring to be a cut-above.

Let us therefore, preserve decorum.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by am1m

... starting a thread on what are the good things to enjoy about Bangalore traffic....

Two rib-ticklers from the past, by BHPian drive2eternity.

Bangalore ORR Parody

11 Reasons Why RMZ Ecoworld Is Great

[fastestindian]

Whenever I see people defending Bangalore traffic or dissing people talking about it by calling it a conspiracy to defame the city, I am instantly reminded of the book "When Prophecy Failed". It describes a bizarre story of a UFO religion whose followers believed a flood will destroy the earth at such and such time and a UFO with aliens will rescue the followers.

The authors of this book infiltrated the followers and observed the prophecy unfold by being the same room when the due date arrived. Needless to say the time came and went and nothing happened. The founder of the religion, just kept extending the deadline and eventually said God, having seen the immense trust we have shown, has decided to park the flood plan for now.

This is a quirk in human psychology. We value those things for which we have sacrificed a lot. The bigger the sacrifice, the more we value it and thus defend the actions we take. People questioning our beliefs or actions (in this case choosing to live in the city or undertaking those crappy commutes) come across as threats to our very being. This is basically the psychology behind people "defending" or "normalising" Bangalore traffic.

Fwiw, same goes for Delhi folks who "defend" their air quality or Mumbaikars who "defend" their annual monsoon floods. That's just how human mind works.

[rvd8732]

Traffic is not the pain but impatient people, signal jumpers, parking in no parking zone, car/auto parked on the curve of the road, buses stopping at the middle of the road or at some one's wave, bikes and cars cutting each other, no stopping at junction even when the signal has gone red.

A classic example, while coming back to home from office; I take a road which is about 50ft wide and is about 400 mtrs long. On this road, on to the left side of the road; the entire 400 mts long cars are parked. So, the traffic has only about 25 to 30 mtrs to squeeze. I have made numerous complaints to the nearest traffic police station but nothing has happened since 8 years.

Authorities are busy in something else while these things can be sorted by some focus.

If the respective departments sort these issues, traffic isn't as bad as it looks in Bengaluru.

[cdrajeevkumar]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Similar to your example of Delhi, Bombay has equally bad or even worse traffic jams on a daily basis. You don't see a Bombay traffic rant thread because the people there have assumed that to be part and parcel of their daily life and live accordingly. You wouldn't see a guy traveling from Airoli to Colaba (for the same ~37 kms distance) in a car in Bombay but you'll see Bangalore folks attempting such distances in their cars on a daily basis. Also Bangalore folks seem to be more "optimistic" of the future state, to put it nicely and come out here with all guns blazing when those expectations keep getting let down.

Pune & Chennai. Just that the forum population ranting on those threads is much lesser!

Perhaps I'm the odd one out. When I was in Mumbai and travelled between Nerul (near DY Patil Stadium) to Kandivali (W), (Approx 50 Kms one way), I always used my car!. Trains were un-boardable & buses took more time. But all said & done, the cursings & rantings were limited, knowing that Mumbai is always accommodating!!. And Yes, as expressed by many here, ranting about traffic & attitude woes, I express my solidarity with them. I have stopped driving in Bangalore & now rely purely on Uber / Ola for my trips!