A citizen’s perspective for streamlining Bangalore’s traffic
   Technology being implemented Rapidly
   Police force listening to citizens
   Citizens becoming proactive
   The country is not all about 4 wheelers
   We have to deal with animals on the road
   The roads in the city are age old and were
    planned for a different era
   We deal with an emotional population and
    not a rational one
   People take to the streets for anything and
    everything
   Corruption
   Varying differences between the Haves and
    the Have nots
   Everyone is not literate
   Lack of accountability
   Identifying the culprits and fixing them one at
    a time is the logical way to do
   We cannot fix everything. Lack of funds and
    support would disable most of the initiatives
   Identify a 3-5 year plan and work towards the
    goal, with citizens knowing what is going to
    change each year
Lack of   Badly designed
                                                  Adequate   flyovers , grade
                                                   Parking      separators
                                Vehicle Density                                  Poor Quality
                                exceeding Road                                  construction of
                                 design limits                                      Roads



                                                                                                  Unreliable
                People not
                                                                                                    Public
              following rules
                                                                                                  Transport




                                                                                                              Lack of
     Metro &
                                                                                                           Coordination
     Flyovers
                                                                                                           between Civic
   construction
                                                                                                             Agencies




Small Roads
                                                        Traffic                                                Same solution
                                                                                                               does not work
                                                        Issues                                                  everywhere
Observation                                Challenges
Most of the Roads in Bangalore City are    Widening all roads is out of the question.
Small and old and border houses and
establishments


       •What can be done is people not encroach and allow enough space
       for vehicular traffic to navigate freely. We all park in front of our
       houses, but do it in a neat and regulated manner. Uniform park for
       more efficiency.
       •Move street vendors to side roads
       •Do not allow autos to park wherever they want
Observation                             Challenges
•Any additional infrastructure          Entrusted parties do not meet deadlines
development brings in issues.           and get away scot free
•Roads underneath metro constructions   Road conditions for motorists are terrible
are in a very pathetic state            Pedestrians are forgotten in the zeal to
•Alternate paths are just not viable    development


     •People should not suffer so much for the sake of development.
     When entrusted parties fail to meet deadlines they must be
     penalized very heavily.
     •Government should assist in land reallocation. Pay 3-5% more than
     the market price, and meet the project deadlines, the government
     will still make a profit.
     •Pedestrian walkways must be provided near these constructions
     •Roads underneath the constructions should be tarred and fixed
     periodically
Observation                                   Challenges
• Rules are flouted                           We all have got used to a system where
• People get away with Fines                  we can get away
• People will not go pay at the court as it   Violators are rude, use political clout and
takes time                                    use very bad behavior
                                              Corruption has added to the woes

      •Rules are meant to be followed. After a repeat violation, the
      violator must be forced to go to a judge and explain the violation.
      Special traffic courts should be set up to fast track these cases.
      •Drunk drivers should be arrested on the spot.
      •Red light violators must pay hefty fines
      •Use of political clout must be avoided. Our leaders have to start this
      at their end and should not encourage any police officer to look the
      other way
      •Police officers must be paid better salaries and provided with better
      gear. This could lower corruption.
Observation                              Challenges
There are at least 300 new vehicles      People have the money to buy new
entering the roads every day             automobiles
Old vehicles do not get phased out       People need new automobiles for their
New roads cannot be built                comfort
                                         Government gets lot of revenue in road
                                         tax

   •As much as driving on the road with a vehicle as my choice is a right, One
   cannot drive if the vehicles are so many that the roads cannot handle.
   •Simple solution is to limit the vehicular use to 3 -4 days a week with a
   special sticker
   •e.g. an innova should not be seen on the roads on a Wednesday ,Similarly,
   all Maruti swifts should be rested on a Tuesday…
Observation                              Challenges
There are more vehicles to park than     Limited parking spaces create this issue.
parking slots                            More purchasing power has led to people
Double parking, illegal parking,         using more 4 wheelers which take more
encroachments occur continually          space
                                         There are very few clean and neat
                                         parking structures in the city
   •Encourage the build of large parking lots and feeder buses must be
   provided from the parking lot to a range of areas.
   •New buildings should adhere to provide parking to all employees, tenants.
   •Existing buildings should be provided a timeframe to provide parking to
   tenants.
   •Encourage parking meters, and automated parking machines and get rid
   of middlemen
Observation                                  Challenges
If one were to see the Sadhashivnagar        It is public money that is used, but our
magicbox design, it would be enough said     representatives are too busy to inspect
here…                                        the quality
Poor design and poor and shoddy quality      We work with a mode of fix the mess and
of work has led to poor grade separators     not find a holistic solution to the whole
and flyovers with gaping holes and           problem, so bottlenecks just move from
illogical route planning leading to people   point a to point b (e.g .. Mekhri circle)
violating traffic rules

    •All new grade separators and flyovers must be designed with quality in
    mind.
    •Traffic police should give a certificate of operation and should renew it
    periodically.
    •Illogical designs like the one at Sadhashivnagar should be scrapped and
    reworked and the design engineers should be blacklisted
Poor Quality and Construction of Roads
                                      Roads

Observation                                Challenges
Roads are very poor in most parts of       We cannot concrete all roads
Bangalore with pot holes, gaping holes,    There is no inspection during the
broken foot paths and also people          construction of roads
throwing trash, construction work on the   Invariably civic agencies end up digging
roads.                                     roads once they have been fixed
Most roads are quality deficient



   •Create an internal nodal agency responsible for the upkeep of quality of
   roads.
   •The Agency should be a task force comprising of BTP, BWSSB,BESCOM,
   BMP
   •The sole purpose of this group should be to ensure coordination between
   civic agencies and ensure – awareness , completion of projects and quality
   control of the projects
Un reliable Public Transit
                                   Roads
Observation                                Challenges
As in most parts of the country,           Buses are a major consumer of the roads
Bangalore’s traffic woes are               and enhancing more routes will choke the
compounded due to a unreliable public      roads.
transit system.                            Rickshaw drivers are human too and no
No guarantees that you will get a          point in blaming them for the chaos.
rickshaw on a particular day or your bus   Metro is deeply delayed due to whatever
will be on time.                           reasons they can claim


   Explore feeder routes of autos by creating point to point autos.
   Encourage auto sharing and auto pooling like car pooling.
   Bangalore’s peripheral railway route should be exploited with local trains
   and the point to point autos/bus stations should originate here.
   The goal is the public should have a reliable alternative transit model and at
   the same time should be able to save money.
Lack of Coordination between Civic Agencies

Observation                              Challenges
BMP maintains roads, while BWSSB,        No central agency to monitor the upkeep
BESCOM, Telephones and others can lay    of roads
pipes and cables at will.                All activities are equally important




  •Create a central agency to monitor the work
  •Provide agencies a month in a year to do their work in a locality and finish
  it on time.
  • Ensure people are aware of road closures in advance and create
  awareness.
Same solution does not work everywhere


Observation                                  Challenges
There is no single solution to fix all the   Our mindset has to change only then
issues                                       there will be an impact
   •Make it mandatory to teach children of learner’s license age in the school a
   significant number hours on driving safe. Without this certificate, RTO
   should refuse to give a Learners Permit.

   •Create special traffic courts to pay fines and do not collect on the spot
   fines. Inconvenience the offenders so they will get careful

   •For people who do not visit the courts and avoid, triple the fine and seize
   the vehicle for a period of 15- 3o days

   •Enhance fines 3-4 times, only if you feel the pinch you will not repeat it
   •Multiple offenders, cancel the license and they should take a test to get it
   again
 Fixing the traffic scenario in Bangalore is not just the work of
  government, Traffic police or the various agencies. It involves
  everyone of us.
 Things will not change overnight, however a few model
  areas can be chosen to enforce a few different laws and rules
  and successes could be translated to other areas.
 Driving in Bangalore should be a pleasure and other cities in
  India should follow our example
 Government, Traffic police and public should coordinate in
  this effort to make this successful.
 The role of the traffic police should be to monitor and
  maintain and it is everyone’s responsibility to assist them in
  this effort.

Bangalore city traffic

  • 1.
    A citizen’s perspectivefor streamlining Bangalore’s traffic
  • 2.
    Technology being implemented Rapidly  Police force listening to citizens  Citizens becoming proactive
  • 3.
    The country is not all about 4 wheelers  We have to deal with animals on the road  The roads in the city are age old and were planned for a different era  We deal with an emotional population and not a rational one  People take to the streets for anything and everything
  • 4.
    Corruption  Varying differences between the Haves and the Have nots  Everyone is not literate  Lack of accountability
  • 5.
    Identifying the culprits and fixing them one at a time is the logical way to do  We cannot fix everything. Lack of funds and support would disable most of the initiatives  Identify a 3-5 year plan and work towards the goal, with citizens knowing what is going to change each year
  • 6.
    Lack of Badly designed Adequate flyovers , grade Parking separators Vehicle Density Poor Quality exceeding Road construction of design limits Roads Unreliable People not Public following rules Transport Lack of Metro & Coordination Flyovers between Civic construction Agencies Small Roads Traffic Same solution does not work Issues everywhere
  • 7.
    Observation Challenges Most of the Roads in Bangalore City are Widening all roads is out of the question. Small and old and border houses and establishments •What can be done is people not encroach and allow enough space for vehicular traffic to navigate freely. We all park in front of our houses, but do it in a neat and regulated manner. Uniform park for more efficiency. •Move street vendors to side roads •Do not allow autos to park wherever they want
  • 8.
    Observation Challenges •Any additional infrastructure Entrusted parties do not meet deadlines development brings in issues. and get away scot free •Roads underneath metro constructions Road conditions for motorists are terrible are in a very pathetic state Pedestrians are forgotten in the zeal to •Alternate paths are just not viable development •People should not suffer so much for the sake of development. When entrusted parties fail to meet deadlines they must be penalized very heavily. •Government should assist in land reallocation. Pay 3-5% more than the market price, and meet the project deadlines, the government will still make a profit. •Pedestrian walkways must be provided near these constructions •Roads underneath the constructions should be tarred and fixed periodically
  • 9.
    Observation Challenges • Rules are flouted We all have got used to a system where • People get away with Fines we can get away • People will not go pay at the court as it Violators are rude, use political clout and takes time use very bad behavior Corruption has added to the woes •Rules are meant to be followed. After a repeat violation, the violator must be forced to go to a judge and explain the violation. Special traffic courts should be set up to fast track these cases. •Drunk drivers should be arrested on the spot. •Red light violators must pay hefty fines •Use of political clout must be avoided. Our leaders have to start this at their end and should not encourage any police officer to look the other way •Police officers must be paid better salaries and provided with better gear. This could lower corruption.
  • 10.
    Observation Challenges There are at least 300 new vehicles People have the money to buy new entering the roads every day automobiles Old vehicles do not get phased out People need new automobiles for their New roads cannot be built comfort Government gets lot of revenue in road tax •As much as driving on the road with a vehicle as my choice is a right, One cannot drive if the vehicles are so many that the roads cannot handle. •Simple solution is to limit the vehicular use to 3 -4 days a week with a special sticker •e.g. an innova should not be seen on the roads on a Wednesday ,Similarly, all Maruti swifts should be rested on a Tuesday…
  • 11.
    Observation Challenges There are more vehicles to park than Limited parking spaces create this issue. parking slots More purchasing power has led to people Double parking, illegal parking, using more 4 wheelers which take more encroachments occur continually space There are very few clean and neat parking structures in the city •Encourage the build of large parking lots and feeder buses must be provided from the parking lot to a range of areas. •New buildings should adhere to provide parking to all employees, tenants. •Existing buildings should be provided a timeframe to provide parking to tenants. •Encourage parking meters, and automated parking machines and get rid of middlemen
  • 12.
    Observation Challenges If one were to see the Sadhashivnagar It is public money that is used, but our magicbox design, it would be enough said representatives are too busy to inspect here… the quality Poor design and poor and shoddy quality We work with a mode of fix the mess and of work has led to poor grade separators not find a holistic solution to the whole and flyovers with gaping holes and problem, so bottlenecks just move from illogical route planning leading to people point a to point b (e.g .. Mekhri circle) violating traffic rules •All new grade separators and flyovers must be designed with quality in mind. •Traffic police should give a certificate of operation and should renew it periodically. •Illogical designs like the one at Sadhashivnagar should be scrapped and reworked and the design engineers should be blacklisted
  • 13.
    Poor Quality andConstruction of Roads Roads Observation Challenges Roads are very poor in most parts of We cannot concrete all roads Bangalore with pot holes, gaping holes, There is no inspection during the broken foot paths and also people construction of roads throwing trash, construction work on the Invariably civic agencies end up digging roads. roads once they have been fixed Most roads are quality deficient •Create an internal nodal agency responsible for the upkeep of quality of roads. •The Agency should be a task force comprising of BTP, BWSSB,BESCOM, BMP •The sole purpose of this group should be to ensure coordination between civic agencies and ensure – awareness , completion of projects and quality control of the projects
  • 14.
    Un reliable PublicTransit Roads Observation Challenges As in most parts of the country, Buses are a major consumer of the roads Bangalore’s traffic woes are and enhancing more routes will choke the compounded due to a unreliable public roads. transit system. Rickshaw drivers are human too and no No guarantees that you will get a point in blaming them for the chaos. rickshaw on a particular day or your bus Metro is deeply delayed due to whatever will be on time. reasons they can claim Explore feeder routes of autos by creating point to point autos. Encourage auto sharing and auto pooling like car pooling. Bangalore’s peripheral railway route should be exploited with local trains and the point to point autos/bus stations should originate here. The goal is the public should have a reliable alternative transit model and at the same time should be able to save money.
  • 15.
    Lack of Coordinationbetween Civic Agencies Observation Challenges BMP maintains roads, while BWSSB, No central agency to monitor the upkeep BESCOM, Telephones and others can lay of roads pipes and cables at will. All activities are equally important •Create a central agency to monitor the work •Provide agencies a month in a year to do their work in a locality and finish it on time. • Ensure people are aware of road closures in advance and create awareness.
  • 16.
    Same solution doesnot work everywhere Observation Challenges There is no single solution to fix all the Our mindset has to change only then issues there will be an impact •Make it mandatory to teach children of learner’s license age in the school a significant number hours on driving safe. Without this certificate, RTO should refuse to give a Learners Permit. •Create special traffic courts to pay fines and do not collect on the spot fines. Inconvenience the offenders so they will get careful •For people who do not visit the courts and avoid, triple the fine and seize the vehicle for a period of 15- 3o days •Enhance fines 3-4 times, only if you feel the pinch you will not repeat it •Multiple offenders, cancel the license and they should take a test to get it again
  • 17.
     Fixing thetraffic scenario in Bangalore is not just the work of government, Traffic police or the various agencies. It involves everyone of us.  Things will not change overnight, however a few model areas can be chosen to enforce a few different laws and rules and successes could be translated to other areas.  Driving in Bangalore should be a pleasure and other cities in India should follow our example  Government, Traffic police and public should coordinate in this effort to make this successful.  The role of the traffic police should be to monitor and maintain and it is everyone’s responsibility to assist them in this effort.