Precious time lost in commuting hampers efficiency

Precious time lost in commuting hampers efficiency
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Once upon a time, not too long ago, a person could traverse the length of the city in less than an hour. It is just another privilege that has been lost to the terrible traffic on the city roads. It is a daily woe of the commuters, a 5-km ride stretching to an hour’s arduous journey.

The result is that an individual’s day is half over, even before it actually begins.

The time taken to commute from home to place of work, with the hurdles of road rage, traffic jams and pollution in between, has begun to drastically reduce efficiency levels across all sectors. Creativity is affected and so is the productivity on an average work day.

Human Resource Development Managers unanimously say that the commuting time is the number one killer of productivity and efficiency in employees. ‘‘By the time, the employee comes to office, he or she would have put in more than an hour on the road. The noise and dust just aggravates the already stressed person,’’ says the HR head of a prominent IT company.

Shalini, a working professional in the city, echoes these views. ‘‘I travel for over an hour from my house to my office. Often, I end up being on the roads for 3-4 hours every day. It is extremely frustrating, ’’ she says.

The solution is in key infrastructure issues that have been highlighted by corporate icons and the commoner alike. DCP East (Traffic) M A Saleem says that transport systems like the metro rail system will de-congest the roads, which are bearing traffic over their capacity. ‘‘We have introduced one-ways and safe routes to schools. Car-pooling concept is tough to enforce, however, introducing toll booths could popularise the concept,’’ he said.

The traffic police is also considering allowing entry of only public transport in some areas to de-congest traffic.

Unless major infrastructure changes are in place, stress will continue to be a by-product of the hectic pace of the metropolis growth.