Satellite bus stations can ease traffic congestion

Satellite bus stations can ease traffic congestion

the Hindu

Holidays see an increase in the number of buses that crowd the already congested roads

# During holidays, there is a heavy rush of vehicles along highways
# This adds to the confusion on roads that are already congested

Bangalore: Can the recently built satellite bus stations help cope with the mad rush of people eager to get away from the city during long weekends and festival holidays?

The city traffic police sure hope so and the public transport undertakings are willing to give it a try.

Many of the estimated 1.4 lakh people employed in the Information Technology and Information Technology-enabled Services in the city have their hometowns scattered across the State and in neighbouring States.

On long weekends such as this year's Independence Day and festivals such as Dasara, Deepavali, Onam, Christmas or Pongal, many of them travel to their hometowns. Heavy traffic along the highways leading out of the city cause snarls.

Private coach operators and State transport undertakings find their bookings going up and run additional buses. The Railways too have started operating special trains to clear the holiday rush.

Holidays have been posing problems to the traffic police, especially because of the number of buses that crowd the already congested city roads.

To overcome traffic snarls around Kempegowda Bus Station, the main hub, the police are asking Karnataka Road Transport Corporation to make better use of the satellite bus stations such as those on K.H. Road and Mysore Road. Both were constructed and planned with this in view but are not operating to their full capacity, the police say. During Dasara and Deepavali for instance, KSRTC operates more than 1,200 additional bus services. These long-distance buses start from the main bus station at regular intervals between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. There are 25 bus bays and 125 buses arrive and take off almost every hour.

Hold-ups

Traffic gets clogged from the Majestic/ K.G. Road area right up to Hudson Circle and the approach near Town Hall to the Mysore Road flyover. Other roads and junctions such as Anandarao Circle (from where private coaches also start their trips), Sir Seshadri Iyer Road, KR Circle and Nrupathunga Road share the same fate. Traffic sometimes gets diverted through roads in Malleswaram about which the residents there complain loudly.

The city police suggest that the KSRTC and the BMTC should strengthen the pick up-and-drop services from the city to the satellite bus stations. The Mysore Road bus station can be the starting and terminating point for long-distance buses towards Mysore.

Points beyond including Kerala and the KH Road bus station can be the terminal for services to Tamil Nadu. Buses bound for Hassan and Tumkur could be provided bays at Jakkarayanakere, the police say. Private coach operators are already practising the system of several pick-up points within the city even if they start their services from the Kalasipalya area.