City's vehicle population balloons to 21 lakh

City's vehicle population balloons to 21 lakh
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The vehicle population in the city is exploding and in the next one week will touch the staggering 21-lakh mark - three times more then what it was a decade ago.

The transformation of Garden City into Hi-Tech City has witnessed an enormous increase in the number of vehicles on its small roads. ``In 1994, we had just 7.17 lakh vehicles. Now it is 20.95 lakh,'' a Transport Department officer told this website’s newspaper.

With around 800 vehicles being registered in the five Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in the City every day, it will take just a few more days to cross the 21-lakh milestone.

Apart from those registered in the city, a large number of vehicles registered in other districts and states jostle for space on Bangalore's roads.

Rapid urbanisation and a poor public transport system have led to this rapid growth. Increasing disposable income and innovative hire-purchase schemes offered by financial institutions have led to the automobile business expanding by leaps and bounds.

Among all the big cities, Bangalore has the highest number of two-wheelers. From a high of 5.35 lakh back in 1994, their number now stands at an astounding 15.42 lakh.

This increase has resulted in frequent congestion and accidents on the City's roads and consequently led to higher vehicular pollution levels. The Supreme Court recently issued a notice to the State Government for the high levels of vehicular pollution.

On the flip side, the increasing number of vehicles has brought in substantial revenue for the State, which incidentally levies the highest road taxes and various other cesses in the country.