[paragsachania]

How many of you who have been regularly taking the elevated expressway felt that it is narrow to accomodate buses?

I have been using this since the past one month and mostly on non peak hours (deliberately though) but recently I have seen instances where none of the buses can manage to remain within their lane and there is always a feet/two protruding out from the center of the road making it a very calculated yet difficult task for any 4 wheeler to overtake (forget any other bus).
Many would argue that this isn't designed to overtake but merely facilitates user to travel at a constant speed of 80kmph for 9Kms without changing gears but with the outstanding lane discipline that the city road users exhibit and for all those wannabe MotoGP riders crawling at 45kmph on the right lane, Slowing down and thus changing gears becomes an unwanted but rational need!!

As someone has rightly pointed out in BM today, the BETL authorities are mute spectators not wanting to educate on lane discipline and I have seen them driving/Parking a TATA 207 on the right lane at 20kmph with the hazard lamps on .

[coolclouds]

What is the status of toll on this elevated highway? When is it expected?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

What is the status of toll on this elevated highway? When is it expected?

No information on this at all. The toll booths are still busy conducting mock tolling for vehicles during peak and non peak hours. There was mail from BETL to Electronics City Industires association on the poor response they received for the Monthly pass and installation of OBU which was later forwarded to us requesting us to fill the passes and make deposits asap.

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

No information on this at all. The toll booths are still busy conducting mock tolling for vehicles during peak and non peak hours. There was mail from BETL to Electronics City Industires association on the poor response they received for the Monthly pass and installation of OBU which was later forwarded to us requesting us to fill the passes and make deposits asap.

Rs. 15 one way and 25 for two way is pretty reasonable and Rs.500 for monthly pass. Paying 900 for monthly pass is bit too much they are asking for, now road below it is good and there will not be much difference in total time of travel between two.

Instead of 900 for pass and less users better 500 and more users. There should be a strict enforcement of lane discipline atleast.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Rs. 15 one way and 25 for two way is pretty reasonable and Rs.500 for monthly pass. Paying 900 for monthly pass is bit too much they are asking for, now road below it is good and there will not be much difference in total time of travel between two.

Instead of 900 for pass and less users better 500 and more users. There should be a strict enforcement of lane discipline atleast.

Couldn't have agreed more on this. I commute from Vidyaranyapura to EC everyday and It might not be a major impact to spend 900 INR a month considering what I normally spend a month in a petrol car giving me anything between 13-14 Kmpl in the city (70 Kms to and fro).

I was thinking about those in and around HSR, Koramangala, BTM, Madiwala, Silk board and 'et al who travel not more than 20-25 Kms in all and would still have to shell out 900INR which will almost be 30-40% of the total fuel expenditure for the whole month!

[s3va]

I didnt find any significant difference on the road below ! I dont know to what extent is this elevated flyover is serving the purpose. Also it looks so narrow ! 2 wheelers should be either laned towards the side or prohibited for their safety !

[asdon]

One way toll amount is higher and not sure how many will use it regular commute. I was comming from Koramangla on Sunday night and the guys from the toll both informed me that they are going to start toll from April 1st, not sure if thats correct or not.

[benbsb29]

I used the Elevated Expressway this afternoon. Trial runs are in progress. Not sure from when the toll would start.

2 wheelers were decent, and ALL kept to the left lane!

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by asdon

One way toll amount is higher and not sure how many will use it regular commute. I was comming from Koramangla on Sunday night and the guys from the toll both informed me that they are going to start toll from April 1st, not sure if thats correct or not.

April Fool.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

I used the Elevated Expressway this afternoon. Trial runs are in progress. Not sure from when the toll would start.

2 wheelers were decent, and ALL kept to the left lane!

You should see the 2 wheeler riders perform their stunts on the Elevated Expressway during peak hours (8-9 am).
Reminds me of Trinity's bike stunt in Matrix 2.

Rohan

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

You should see the 2 wheeler riders perform their stunts on the Elevated Expressway during peak hours (8-9 am).
Reminds me of Trinity's bike stunt in Matrix 2.

Rohan

+1 Not only stunts, today I saw a young couple on a bike having nice time on right lane. Even my Stebel did not work!!!

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

+1 Not only stunts, today I saw a young couple on a bike having nice time on right lane. Even my Stebel did not work!!!

Could you please elaborate.

But seriously, it has become really difficult to drive a car on this expressway. The buses occupy the right lane and the 2-wheelers and slow moving goods carriers occupy the other lane. Sometime the buses and 2-wheelers/goods carriers intentionally drive side by side, blocking all the cars coming from behind.

And to add to the confusion are these wannabe stuntmen, who ride their pulsars like there is no tomorrow - zipping across lanes without indicating and overtaking dangerously.

The margin or error is very less on the Expressway. I am using the Expressway as long as its toll free, after that I would use the road below. Doesn't matter if it takes an extra 10 mins, but I find it much safer compared to the narrow Expressway.

Rohan

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Not only stunts, today I saw a young couple on a bike having nice time on right lane. Even my Stebel did not work!!!

You have a Stebel on your car?

And the train engine sound did not deter them? Man, they were serious.

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by sbraj

You have a Stebel on your car?

And the train engine sound did not deter them? Man, they were serious.

I do not have Stebel big brother in my car but chota bhai TM80 Magnum.

[coolclouds]

Times of India news:

Toll takes its toll on first day

Honks,Queues On Elevated E-Way;Ride To Be Smooth After Initial Hiccups End

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: Minutes tick by,long queues,impatient commuters.This was the scene on Wednesday on the Elevated expressway which became a tolled road.
The expressway to Electronic City had been a freeway since its inauguration a couple of months ago.The toll collection started early morning the users have to pay the pre-set toll amount for the traffic-free ride.
The first day confusion was there.Several commuters were caught unawares.At around 4 am,the toll collection had begun and the commuters were stopped at the plazas.The collection has officially begun at the five toll plazas.But right now,all the 31 lanes are not working.
Bangalore Elevated Tollway Limited (BETL) officials said that there was a pile-up as many commuters paid in cash.
There are some teething problems at the initial stages.Apart from the occasional malfunctioning of booth gates or barrier,there are no major technical worries and the operation will be smoothened out in a weeks time, said a BETL official.
One of the reasons that led to the congestion was because not many commuters used the On Board Units (OBU).The OBUs which can be obtained by paying a certain amount can be fixed on the windshield for electronic toll collection allowing smooth transition at the plazas.
The first batch of applications for monthly electronic passes had been distributed to big MNCs at Electronic City campus.The applications are in paper format.But the Rs 900 for the monthly passes for the OBUs would be deducted electronically.
BETL officials said the number of commuters using the OBUs so far is below 500.It will take some time for the commuters to adjust to the new situation.Once they understand the benefits,we expect a lot of people to use the OBUs, an official said.
The response to the option of smart cards for the two-wheeler users has also not been enthusiastic.Once again,the demand is being expected to pick up from the coming week once everything is in place.
BETL officials said the electronic passes would be beneficial to tech employees as they could make any number of trips to and from Electronic city within the 30-day span which can begin on any date of a month.It would also save them a lot of time as the manual toll collection takes a longer period.

WAY TO GO

Five toll plazas four at Electronic city and one at Attibele Toll rates fixed for single trip,to & fro and monthly period OBUs are available on payment of refundable security deposit of Rs 1,000 at BETL office near toll plazas in Electronic city People can come to expressway and collect OBUs after submitting application as there is one toll management server there

TOLL FEE



ONE-WAY TOLL

Rs 10: two-wheelers Rs 30: four wheelers Rs 40: minibus/LCV Rs 80: buses

MULTIPLE-TRIPS PASS IN A DAY

Rs 20: two-wheelers Rs 45: four-wheelers Rs 65: Minibus/LCV Rs 125: buses

MONTHLY FEE

Rs 360: two-wheelers Rs 900: four-wheelers Rs 1,255: minibuses/LCV Rs 2,515: buses

ELECTRONIC PASSES

Rs 1,000 for On Board Unit Rs 900 for monthly pass

Applicability of toll

User fee to be collected from all vehicles,including two-wheelers using elevated stretch Three-wheelers not permitted User fee to be collected from all vehicles except two-wheelers,crossing Attibele Plaza in either direction No toll for use of ground level road between 8.765 km and Attibele toll plaza if plaza is not crossed

RUSH HOUR ON THE EXPRESSWAY


In the morning,I waited in
the queue for half-an-hour.
When I found I was not
getting anywhere,I decided
not to take the express highway at all.Going down the expressway seemed faster than taking the elevated highway

Kumar Ramachandra | WORKS AT A COMPANY IN E-CITY

On my way to office in the company bus,we joined the queue at 7.50 am.We finally got past the toll gate only at 8.20 am.While returning,the queue was almost of the same length.So,we thought it wiser not to take that route.The rush might ease up when they start issuing passes

Gururaj Satyanarayanan | EMPLOYEE,SHELL INDIA MARKETING PRIVATE LTD

After seeing the rush in the morning,I decided to buy a return pass also.However,on my way back,I still had to wait for 15 minutes or so.There were only three counters,but around five queues.Vehicles kept jumping the queues and entering other lines.It was utter chaos.It is sad that they did not analyze the number of vehicles entering the area even after a month or so of the opening.

Jeevanath Avaroth | EMPLOYEE,IT FIRM

[Latheesh]

Yesterday morning I used the tollway but in the evening decided to use road below. Looks like not many people are interested in using tollway. It took cool 40-45 min to reach home (BTM)