Traffic spells trauma for most Bangaloreans

JAMS BAD FOR BIZ
Traffic spells trauma for most Bangaloreans, but some suffer more than others
The Times of India





IN Bangalore, professional lives are affected, deadlines turn topsy-turvy, meetings get delayed, surgeries get rescheduled, site visits are postponed, whole systems are thrown out of gear and...pizzas are not delivered on time — all because of traffic jams.

DOC IN A RUSH:

Dr Prakash Kini, whose practice entails travelling from Cunningham Road to Jayanagar to JP Nagar daily, says he’s caught in jams many times. He drives both mornings and evenings But areas like Domlur are cut off delivery lists because right turns and U-turns are also not allowed.

HEALTH AT RISK :

Ambulance services are badly hit. Says Madhusudhan, manager, Consortium for Trauma Care, “The worst is Airport Road. Once, we couldn’t move a patient from one hospital to another (less than two km apart), both on Airport Road because of traffic.” Another time, they could not move a patient from Shoolay Circle to a hospital less than a km away. “In May, there were eight “missed rescue” cases. Many patients are badly affected.”

— at 10.30, 11.30 am, 1.30 or 5.30 pm, covering 60 km daily. “The worst spots are Double Road, Chalukya Circle and St Marks Road.” Sometimes he’s waited for 25 minutes. Then he calls up the hospital to inform he’ll be late. “Once, I had a surgery at Bannerghatta Road which took only 30 minutes, but I took an hour and a half to reach there and back from Jayanagar.” The distance was a mere 4 km.


PLANS GONE AWRY:

Architect Nisha Mathew Ghosh avoids peak traffic hour for site visits as far as possible. She’s caught in traffic jams three times a week. She plans her schedule, but sometimes it goes for a toss because of traffic. “I have been caught twice, for an hour each, on Hosur Road, while I was returning from a client in Electronic City.” Sometimes, it’s taken her more than 20 minutes to

SOGGY PIZZA:

Some pizza joints have stopped delivering to specific areas because of jams. Says Raghu, a pizza delivery person, “Sometimes, we wait for 40-45 minutes in a jam. So we tell customers we’ll reach in 45 minutes or an hour, and they understand when we tell them it’s because of traffic. Between 7 pm and 9 pm is the worst time.” Sometimes, they offer discounts for delayed deliveries. reach the city centre from Koramangala where she lives. She carries work with her and catches up in a jam. “But since our office and home are in the same building, we have halved our commuting time,” she says.