[airguitar]

I left home in Whitefield by 7.10 AM, hoping to drop my kids off at school today ( as we all saw that the buses were heavily delayed ) so that they get on time, 8AM, due to an important assignment at school. 6 kms tooks 75 mins today and the last 3 kms an hour.

From there I had to go to work, Kadubisanahalli and just after Balagere, a tanker driver warned me not to go towards the Panathur underpass as it was apparently flooded upto 4-5ft. I was on my thar, for a moment I had a stupid thought of taking the waterlogging on and getting to work ( I had to be there by 9) but sanity prevailed. Ended up taking the Balagere - Shriram Samriddhi road, which was flooded badly too, especially tricky for bikers.

It was all IT crowd and School students trying to get to their destinations : and it showed how bad the situation is despite it being the hub of a billion dollar industry. The lesser said the better. The only solace was that I was in my Thar and didn't have to worry about anything/prepared for the worst.

Originally Posted by Acharya

Any resemblance in the clip with Blore two wheeler riders & Water tankers, is purely coincidental & certainly not intentional

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ibs6gyABz8

This is how sometimes law-abiding drivers in Bengaluru feel like doing.

[itwasntme]

Going to be mayhem on every entry/exit in BLR today. Steady rain + long weekend!

'Heavy congestion expected': Bengaluru Traffic Police ask ORR firms to allow work-from-home on Aug 14

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/k...aug-14-3149320

[m2maddy]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Going to be mayhem on every entry/exit in BLR today. Steady rain + long weekend!

'Heavy congestion expected': Bengaluru Traffic Police ask ORR firms to allow work-from-home on Aug 14

Surprising that except traffic from HSR flyover to Bellandur, it was smooth traffic on ORR from Banashankari till Marathahalli, made it in an hour even though I started at 7.45am, but evening could be a nightmare for sure

[bejoy]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Going to be mayhem on every entry/exit in BLR today.

Originally Posted by m2maddy

Surprising that except traffic from HSR flyover to Bellandur, it was smooth traffic on ORR from Banashankari till Marathahalli, made it in an hour even though I started at 7.45am, but evening could be a nightmare for sure

Some companies actually sent out emails for WFH based on this circular, and it helped. Starting at 8:30am, I reached Ecoworld from HSR in 30 minutes, a record of sorts for a Wednesday morning. But yes, evening would be a different scenario.

[alpha1]

How much time do Bengaluru forum member spend on the commute (home-office-home)?
How much time is actually left to spend at home?

e.g. reaching most of the places in Mumbai during office hours = 1 to 1.5 hours one way. So daily commute = 2 to 3 hours.
Of course, you can optimize this duration (shave off considerable time) if you leave early or late: e.g. leave your house before 8 am, or after 1030 am; similarly leave office before 5 pm or after 830 pm

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by alpha1

How much time do Bengaluru forum member spend on the commute (home-office-home)?
How much time is actually left to spend at home?

I think this is a good survey question for a separate thread

My experience: on average 2 hours (daily commute); worst case is 3.5 hours.

e.g. reaching most of the places in Mumbai during office hours = 1 to 1.5 hours one way. So daily commute = 2 to 3 hours.

Same was my experience in Mumbai pre-covid; when I travel by road.

Honestly, my guess is if we put everyone's travel time on a common scale, Bangalore and Mumbai would turn out to be very similar. But the threads tell you a different story

[dass]

One way distance of about 10kms, and more often than not I use my bike and it takes about 2 hours on good days. If I take the car, another 45 mins to be added. This for a 10am to office and 4pm from office journey, from Kundalahalli to Domlur.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Honestly, my guess is if we put everyone's travel time on a common scale, Bangalore and Mumbai would turn out to be very similar. But the threads tell you a different story

Whether Mumbai or Bangalore, and whether one thread complains more or not, do most people think that 2 hours on the road for under 20km is an acceptable commute these days?!

Originally Posted by alpha1

How much time is actually left to spend at home?

A shorter/no commute can change the quality of life. Even if you are not doing anything 'useful' with the time saved on the commute, not spending that in traffic is mentally and physically refreshing.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by am1m

Whether Mumbai or Bangalore, and whether one thread complains more or not, do most people think that 2 hours on the road for under 20km is an acceptable commute these days?!

Rhetorical questions like these (and like 'is ranting about it on a thread again and again and again changes the situation on ground?') are definitely the way to focus on I believe

Jokes apart - the difference on ground is Bombay folks have (IMO) accepted that long travel time is a given; unless one is able to figure out accommodation close to their office (or visa versa). Bangalore folks on the other hand still seem to have hope that things will change (somehow).

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by am1m

Whether Mumbai or Bangalore, and whether one thread complains more or not, do most people think that 2 hours on the road for under 20km is an acceptable commute these days?!

It is unfortunately a slow rot that happens because of the general nature of humankind to keep adapting to situations. Over a period of months and years, when there is a gradual deterioration in something we do, we just keep accepting it as the new norm. So 10 years back, a 10km commute maybe took 20min, that became 30 min 7 years back, then maybe 45 min 4 years back and 1+ hour today. By now we have forgotten that this was a 20 min commute and instead are now happy that it is taking 1 hour and not 2 hours-Like many folks would have expected today after the advisory. . Many people have the realization that they cannot 'adapt' any more (Like I think you do from past posts) and exit, most people continue due to various reasons and constraints.

On the comparison between Mumbai and Bangalore, I think one major difference is that the average distance of commute in Mumbai is much more than in Bangalore.

To me there are 3 fundamental things that can be done to streamline traffic much better in Bangalore(Not going into the big things like Metro, More buses and Bus Lanes, Suburban Rail, Flyovers, Elevated Roads- All of which are needed).

• Tar the roads- Most roads in Bangalore are in bad condition at various levels. Just ensuring that all roads are laid properly will ensure traffic moves much faster.
• Consistency in Road width- Many roads in Bangalore narrow down and expand randomly- due to encroachments, some construction work, poor planning, illegal parking) that creates bottle necks.
• Put a lot of traffic signals- There are lots and lots of junctions where there are 3-4 Traffic Policemen trying to regulate traffic. Putting traffic lights will help streamline the flows. If intelligent traffic lights can be put, even better.

[nirmaljusdoit]

Traffic condition also depends upon proper road design and proper signage’s which are not available in Bangalore. Eg. place to have a stop sign, lane discipline etc. Also driver education is not possible with so many indisciplined drivers around.

To implement proper rules is virtually impossible and believing so is living in fools paradise ! There will never be any improvement in the conditions unless these basics are put in place.

[m2maddy]

Originally Posted by alpha1

How much time do Bengaluru forum member spend on the commute (home-office-home)?
How much time is actually left to spend at home?

Bengaluru: Morning commute Avg is 1hr, Evening commute Avg is 1hr 20mins. Total around 2.5 hours

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by alpha1

How much time do Bengaluru forum member spend on the commute (home-office-home)?
How much time is actually left to spend at home?

e.g. reaching most of the places in Mumbai during office hours = 1 to 1.5 hours one way. So daily commute = 2 to 3 hours.
Of course, you can optimize this duration (shave off considerable time) if you leave early or late: e.g. leave your house before 8 am, or after 1030 am; similarly leave office before 5 pm or after 830 pm

On the days I visit office, 1 hr in the morning, 1.5 hrs in the evening. So total 2.5 hrs on road.

[anandhsub]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

unless one is able to figure out accommodation close to their office (or visa versa).

This is the biggest reason for the difference in rants. In Bangalore even if you pay through the nose to get an accommodation close to the office, it has absolutely 0 pedestrian infrastructure making it impossible to walk even a km to office on a daily basis even though that is much faster than taking a car which takes 20 mins for 1 km.

Atleast in Mumbai if you stay close to office your commute is secured. It is a choice to commute longer by staying farther away from work and save on rents.

[Secretariat]

It was wheelie mayhem today morning on the Airport Road and beyond. Some hundred guys doing wheelies on their two wheelers and many hundreds more taking photos of these stunts on a National Highway with fast moving traffic. Wheelies while weaving in and out between cars, sudden acceleration and stopping in the middle of the highway, jumping all the red lights, of course and doing abrupt U turns right against the traffic. One idiot even came straight at me at high speed on the wrong side doing a wheelie while I was on my cycle at the extreme left of the shoulder on the road (I have never been more terrified and I really thought I had it today).

Sporting the tricolour on your bike apparently gives you a carte blanche to do all this. No policeman was in sight, obviously.

Festivals and occasions have become days of general licence to misbehave. Alas