Increasing vehicle population stretches infrastructure to the limit

City roads are wedded to chaos
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: While the Bangalore Police are going ahead with the introduction of one-ways on a number of roads, traffic continues to be chaotic. Thanks to the voluminous increase in vehicular population, nothing, absolutely nothing, is working.

A large number of new vehicles hit the already choked roads every month. Apart from over 700 new vehicles registered with the five Regional Transport Offices (RTO) in the city, the floating population is also rising. Currently, there are 18 lakh vehicles registered in the city and in the next few years, the number will increase enormously.

The situation is alarming, said a senior officer. Though infrastructure has improved, the development is not in tandem with the subsequent explosion of vehicle population, the officer added.

While the absence of an efficient public transport system is a reason for the increase in vehicles, aggressive marketing strategies adopted by automobile companies is also adding to the problem.

Short-term measures, like the introduction of one-ways, construction of flyovers and grade separators, have failed to decongest the traffic. According to experts, widening of all major roads and improving public transportation systems are the only options left to improve the situation.

The proposed Bangalore Metro Rail, which will supplement Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) services, is expected to decongest the roads to an extent. It is also likely to reduce accidents and pollution. But the project is yet to be cleared by the Centre.

Not just Bangalore. Most growing cities are facing the problem.

‘‘The average two-wheeler and car ownership levels in metropolitan cities, which were 112 and 12 per thousand population in 1994, are expected to grow to 393 and 48 respectively by the year 2021. This would mean 53 million two-wheelers and six million cars in the next 20 years,’’ the Union Urban Development Ministry annual report for 2003-04 stated.