BIG IDEAS FOR BANGALORE – 9 TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

BIG IDEAS FOR BANGALORE – 9 TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
Authorities, road-users must wake up to crisis
John M Panikar says transportation problems can be solved largely by focusing on short-term issues

As Bangalore is not designed for heavy movement of vehicular traffic, we face a shortage of adequate road networks. It’s critical to manage the supply to our best
Bangalore’s transportation problems are compounded by neglecting shortterm issues that have ballooned into the massive unmanageable crisis we currently face. Take Bangalore’s speed bumps, for instance. They fail to adhere to any norms of size and shape. The result is a curious, if not frustrating, assortment of speed bumps all along the road network, whether or not necessary. Consider also our city’s road medians, which are poorly laid.
These issues involve core questions concerning effective governance of our city.
Also, the traffic signalling systems in the city are either absent, inadequate or malfunctioning. They are not synchronized the way they should be. One also notices the absurd way of positioning bus stops on busy roads. We find bus stops situated at busy intersections hindering traffic and posing serious safety hazards.
Another glaring example is the presence of animal-driven carts, frequently loaded with unwieldy materials (like iron rods), all over the city’s busy roads. These modes of transport not only hamper movement of traffic, but also cause accidents. It is difficult to appreciate how such modes of transport can be allowed on busy thoroughfares in a metropolitan city like Bangalore.
Given that Bangalore’s roads are narrow and not designed for heavy movement of vehicular traffic, we face a shortage of adequate road networks. It is, therefore, critical to manage the supply to the best of our ability. Where feasible, some stretches of the road network are being widened. This is a welcome development. However, the pace of such work is painfully slow, and it appears there are no targets in terms of completion dates: in industry, a month’s delay in the completion of a large capital project can easily destroy the entire project’s financial viability. An appreciation for this kind of urgency is a must for the authorities.
Although every year hundreds of crores of rupees are spent on repairing the existing road network, it continues to be of extremely poor quality. One struggles to understand why authorities fail to implement global standards of road construction.
Another important aspect requiring immediate attention is traffic management. Bangalore’s traffic situation will not improve unless its road users are appropriately trained, licensed and disciplined.
It is difficult to imagine any other country with such chaotic traffic conditions. The traffic personnel are many times inadequately trained or equipped to regulate traffic. This is in stark contrast to major metros in the West where the very sight of a well-trained traffic officer elicits proper road etiquette.
Isn’t it quite scary that we permit people to drive on our roads without ensuring that they adhere to basic traffic laws? This is a simple case of not enforcing traffic regulations and not penalising the offenders heavily. Traffic fines in developed countries work because of 100% enforcement, and also because the financial burden of a fine could run into thousands of rupees.
A solution could be outsourcing the training and certification of our traffic officers to organizations from cities with world class capabilities in this field.
Behavioural changes which would lead to citizens using public transport is also required: novel approaches might be implemented like congestion charges levied in London and Singapore, and strictly enforced carpool lanes.
The long-term solutions are supposedly being addressed. The upcoming Metro Rail will facilitate the mass rapid transport system, and is absolutely essential in the given circumstances. The other issue concerns the dispersal of development to the rest of the state, so that people do not have to migrate to Bangalore to look for
Red alert
Reasons for crisis in Bangalore’s transportation infrastructure: Extraordinary growth of the city due to industrial growth and consequential migration Inadequacies inherent in transportation network, including roads and related transportation systems Rapid influx of indisciplined drivers Absence of timely response, coupled with extensive neglect by successive administrations These difficulties are throwing everything into disarray and everyone into desperation. Yet, we don’t see expected degree of earnestness of relevant authorities to take necessary steps to correct and improve this situation, and to halt the terrible slide Bangalore is likely to fall into.
FEEDBACK
Readers respond to last week’s BIG IDEA
Outsource traffic dept work
Traffic police always quote manpower shortage in their department. The world-over, organizations are setting up centres in Bangalore to outsourcing their work. Why can’t the traffic department outsource its work too. | T Paramasivan
Use eco-friendly fuel
New Delhi boasts of the largest bus fleet in the world that uses CNG. However, in Bangalore, unscrupulous auto drivers go unpunished for using nefarious fuels and polluting our city. Why haven’t the authorities made it mandatory for public transport vehicles in Bangalore to use only CNG? | Anil Kapur EXPERTSPEAK

Strange as this may sound, the worsening traffic and infrastructure problem can be eased if, we as citizens, lodge more complaints. We do grumble about how traffic rules are violated, transport officials are corrupt, etc. But very few of us file a complaint with the authorities when we see something amiss or follow up on our complaint in case no action is taken. I have personally found the traffic police to be extremely helpful (thank you traffic inspector of Commercial Street Police Station for acting on my phone call last week and towing away a vehicle which was double parked outside our apartment building and obstructing vehicle movement). Often it takes only a phone call to set right a traffic wrong and send a purse-pinching message to violators. The bottom line for improving the traffic situation is this: Each of us should start playing the role of a citizen. If we do this the results will be dramatic.
Binu S Thomas | EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER, CUBBON ROAD RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION


Until we have an effective public transport system we will continue to have traffic chaos. For now, Mumbai has shown that a zero tolerance approach to traffic offences works. Buses, BPO vehicles, autos can be monitored using public inputs and technology. Data of traffic offenders must be shared with insurance firms and offenders must be made to pay higher premiums. Parking has to be on charge basis and arterial roads need to be kept free of parked vehicles. Congestion pricing for central areas will be necessary in due course. V Ravichander | EX-MEMBER, BATF