[procrj]

For the last 4.5 years, I have been escaping the madness that is daily office commute but starting 1st June, I will need to travel from Malleswaram to Graphite India Plan is to start by 7.30 am from Malleswaram and hence my commute options are:
1. Malleswaram - MG Road - Marathahalli - Kundanahalli - Grahite India : This is my first choice as I know that traffic is fast moving for most of the route and the serious bottle necks start only after marathahalli market
2. Malleswaram - Hebbal - KR Puram - Phoenix - Graphite India: Weary of the tin factory pile up and hence planning to avoid this route. I am sure that once rains start, tin factory & KR Puram is going to be insane
3. Malleswaram - Majestic (bike) - 335E Volvo to Graphite: Can wrap up some work on the go and not deal with the chaos of Bangalore traffic. Any idea on how long it might take If I am able to board the volvo from Majestic at 8 am?
4. Malleswaram - Majestic (bike) - Metro to SV road - Feeder Bus to Graphite: I did see a few post from audioholic regarding the time taken from SV road to ITPL. Any others who can comment on this?
5. Yeshwantpur/Bangalore Cantt - KR Puram by train & KR Puram-Graphite India by Bus: Not sure if anyone here has used this option. Any feedback?

[jkrishnakj]

Hey Procrj- how would the metro work for you ? I'm not sure how long it takes from Byappanahalli to ITPL, but I thought the metro can be an option too for you.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by procrj

5. Yeshwantpur/Bangalore Cantt - KR Puram by train & KR Puram-Graphite India by Bus: Not sure if anyone here has used this option. Any feedback?

Let me share my experience. The 2nd day after joining office in ITPL, I switched over to train (Chennai Express that departs from Blore City at 8 AM). My family was still in Chennai and I planned to get them to Bangalore by May. Till then I stayed in my parents house in Malleswaram and commuted by train.
I left home in the morning by 7 30 AM and comfortably reached City station well before 8 AM
I opted for railway pass. Back in 2011, for travelling by super fast trains, monthly pass was Rs 265 while for passenger trains only, it was Rs 165. I opted for the former
The train reached Whitefield station by 8 45 AM. After crossing the tracks, I took a bus to ITPL that cost me Rs 10.By 9 AM I was in office.

For the return journey, the train was scheduled to arrive at Whitefield by 7 PM but in my 3 month daily trip by train, only once the train came on time at 7 PM. Usually it came by 7 10 PM. It then reached City station by 8 PM. After catching a bus from Majestic, I reached home by 8 30 PM. To catch the 7 PM train, i used to leave office by 6 40 PM

There is one more alternate option. If your office permits you to come and leave early, then you can catch a passenger train in the morning (not sure about the exact timings though) and for the return trip, you have the Arakkonam passenger.
Let me tell you about this train. I used this train on few occasions. The scheduled arrival time at Whitefield is 5 45 PM. It used to come bang sharp. After 5 min waiting it departed. Lots of IT folks preferred this train. The instantaneous speed of this train is comparable to that of Shatabdi, the only drawback being it stopped at each and every station
It reached City station at 7 PM sharp as the same train goes back as Bangarpet Passenger. So the question of coming late does not arise for this train.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by procrj

Plan is to start by 7.30 am from Malleswaram and hence my commute options are:
1. Malleswaram - MG Road - Marathahalli - Kundanahalli - Grahite India : This is my first choice as I know that traffic is fast moving for most of the route and the serious bottle necks start only after marathahalli market

I think until Old airport road this route will be great but after that there will be considerable amount of office goers and passing through the stretch after ISRO to all the way till Kundanahalli gate will be crowded. A better alternate is to continue on MG Road to Ulsoor lake, KR Pura and to graphite india. Best route as far as my experience goes. Tin factory is more or less sorted out these days and it hardly adds five mins to the overall commute time even if its jammed.

2. Malleswaram - Hebbal - KR Puram - Phoenix - Graphite India: Weary of the tin factory pile up and hence planning to avoid this route. I am sure that once rains start, tin factory & KR Puram is going to be insane

Considerable option too. My Manager takes this route daily and he too stays in Malleshwaram. It depends upon where you are in malleshwaram. If you stay towards the yeswantpura side then this might be beneficial.

3. Malleswaram - Majestic (bike) - 335E Volvo to Graphite: Can wrap up some work on the go and not deal with the chaos of Bangalore traffic. Any idea on how long it might take If I am able to board the volvo from Majestic at 8 am?

Return journey will be horrible if you take 335E. It will pass through all the hotspots and will take at least two hours if not more. Instead, take bike till city railway metro station, take a metro till BYPL and arrange for some transport from BYPL metro station. It will take time in the mornings but a breeze in the evenings. I am planning to implement this once a week from now on. SV road to Graphite india can be done in 20mins(mornings fastest) and the return from Graphite india to BYPL will take 30-35mins(usually consistent apart from any major issues)

Where exactly in Graphite India?

A few pointers from my side:

1. Initially your travel times will be high in car. For example my commute is from BSK to EPIP zone after Graphite India. Initially I used to take 1hr 15 mins through Old airport road in the mornings and 2.5hrs on the first day returning on the same route. Once you get used to the different route combinations and timings, your commute can be heavily optimised. Now I dont take more than 40mins morning and 1hr 30mins in the evenings be it rain or sunshine. Maximum was 1h45m when rains thrashed and I was stuck on double road flyover for 20 mins. Hence, dont get disappointed on day one.

2. If travelling by car, the lanes you keep on the road will also matter your overall commute quality. There are some places where being in the right lane will help you move freely instead of getting stuck in the queue near a right turn where you have to go straight. Once you get used to the route you can take care of such things.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

By 9 AM I was in office.

Thanks Suresh. Also plan to talk to a couple of friends who use the train on and off.

The scheduled arrival time at Whitefield is 5 45 PM. It used to come bang sharp.

Thats going to be late. I plan to get out of office by 3.30/3.45 PM as I invariably have calls with US folks starting 6.30 PM. Hence need to be home before that.

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

I thought the metro can be an option too for you.

Option 4 in my post is the metro from Majestic - SV road

Originally Posted by audioholic

A better alternate is to continue on MG Road to Ulsoor lake, KR Pura and to graphite india

When you say via Ulsoor lake, are you talking about Ulsoor - OMR - KR Puram or Usloor - Lingrajppuram - ORR?

Return journey will be horrible if you take 335E. It will pass through all the hotspots and will take at least two hours if not more.

Agreed but I plan to leave office by 3.45 PM hence it might not be that bad.

SV road to Graphite india can be done in 20mins(mornings fastest) and the return from Graphite india to BYPL will take 30-35mins(usually consistent apart from any major issues)

How is connectivity? Typical wait times? Also do buses to ITPL go via Graphite India or via PSN?

Where exactly in Graphite India?

RMZ centennial. Right next to Rx DX hospital. Hence If I come from KR Puram - Phoenix, I need to get to hoodi, go all the way across SAP labs to take the U turn and get to Rx Dx. But from Kundannahalli side, I could use the U turn in front of Rx Dx (assuming that its still open)

the lanes you keep on the road will also matter your overall commute quality

This is the only way to drive in bangalore given the number of left & right turns on main roads. I know the lanes that I need to follow on the Airport road - Graphite India route but will need to learn the lanes on KR Puram route. Plan to experiment in the first week and check what works best.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by procrj

Thanks Suresh. Also plan to talk to a couple of friends who use the train on and off.
Thats going to be late. I plan to get out of office by 3.30/3.45 PM as I invariably have calls with US folks starting 6.30 PM. Hence need to be home before that.

Check this out. You have Marikuppam Passenger that leaves Whitefield by 3 30 PM

[Aniket6]

Originally Posted by procrj

2. Malleswaram - Hebbal - KR Puram - Phoenix - Graphite India: Weary of the tin factory pile up and hence planning to avoid this route. I am sure that once rains start, tin factory & KR Puram is going to be insane

I travel from Mathikere to Bellandur and come across Hebbal to KR Puram you mentioned. Hebbal to Tin factory takes only about 20 mins to 30 mins max, only bottleneck being Manyata tech park. Tin factory jam in worst case takes about 10 mins to cross.
I guess you can reach Malleshwaram to KR Puram in 45-50 mins.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by Aniket6

Tin factory jam in worst case takes about 10 mins to cross.

What time do you leave home and what time do you hit KR puram?

[Aniket6]

Originally Posted by procrj

What time do you leave home and what time do you hit KR puram?

Leave 9.15am from mathikere and reach Tin factory by 9.45-9.55 am. Car & bike time difference is low on this route as well.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by procrj

Thanks Suresh. Also plan to talk to a couple of friends who use the train on and off.
Thats going to be late. I plan to get out of office by 3.30/3.45 PM as I invariably have calls with US folks starting 6.30 PM. Hence need to be home before that.

For the onward journey from Bangalore City to Whitefield, see the below image

[satan's_valet]

Originally Posted by procrj

For the last 4.5 years, I have been escaping the madness that is daily office commute but starting 1st June, I will need to travel from Malleswaram to Graphite India Plan is to start by 7.30 am from Malleswaram and hence my commute options are:

I can relate to your dilemma. I stay in Malleshwaram as well and when my office was in PSN, I used to take the HEBBAL --> KR Puram --> Phoenix route.
I used to start at 9.30 and reach office around 11. Malleshwaram to KR Puram will not take you more than 45 minutes accounting for the traffic jam at Manyata as well. However, KR Puram to PSN used to take me at least 30 minutes. If a bus break downs in this stretch (I used to see at least 2 breakdowns in a month), the travel time will increase considerably. Considering your early start, the travel time between KR Puram and Graphite should be less.

The bus from Majestic is not the best option. My wife used this and there were days when the bus took almost 3 hours to reach Majestic from Whitefield.

I do not have much info about the train option, but considering your timings, I would suggest the car as your best option.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by procrj

Thats going to be late. I plan to get out of office by 3.30/3.45 PM as I invariably have calls with US folks starting 6.30 PM. Hence need to be home before that.

Advance your office time by another half an hour to make sure you *are* in office by 7. Then all it takes is 30-40 minutes to drive. If you leave by 3/3:15 it would work out the same way for return. The day you cant manage that, work from home!

City traffic is easy early mornings.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by ampere

Advance your office time by another half an hour to make sure you *are* in office by 7. Then all it takes is 30-40 minutes to drive. If you leave by 3/3:15 it would work out the same way for return. The day you cant manage that, work from home!

Leaving home by 6.30 am is gonna be hard. Will arrive at a best fit solution after a week of experimentation

[ampere]

Originally Posted by procrj

Leaving home by 6.30 am is gonna be hard. Will arrive at a best fit solution after a week of experimentation

You will find it that way initially. And once you get used to it, I am sure, it will be near impossible to get out of that schedule.

[chandrda]

Potential Jam Alert:

A Truck has broken down on the ring road in front of Rainbow Hospital where you take U turn after ISRO towards Graphite/Alpine Apartment. The Truck was causing problem to couple of buses who were trying to take U Turn.

Also noticed a Tata Indica Vista had crashed into a pole in front of KPTO-SAP Junction. Indica had climbed the pavement and hit the pole causing some severe damage to the car. Not sure how the driver managed to generate such speed in that turn and in that angle.

Regards