Bengaluru’s seething tech corridor calls for timely advisories, efficient public transport

While doubling the tracks along the 48-km Byappanahalli-Hosur corridor will benefit tech workers along the ORR, Sarjapur Road, and Hosur Road, it is only expected to be completed by December 2024.

Bengaluru's tech corridor, the Outer Ring Road (ORR), contributes to 36 percent of the city's IT revenue, totalling $32.68 billion annually. However, it continues to grapple with severe traffic congestion. According to the Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA), the 17-km Central Silk Board-KR Puram section has more than 500 companies and employs  close to a million people.

On September 27, ORR users experienced one of the worst jams ever . Typically, congestion alerts between Silk Board and KR Puram average at 197 on a typical Wednesday. However, on September 27, this number soared to a staggering 1,069.

Also read: Traffic congestion in Bengaluru's tech corridor costs $15 bn annually: Outer Ring Road Companies Association

Despite the Bengaluru traffic police outlining five reasons  for the unusual traffic on September 27, including a high volume of vehicles, an extended weekend, waterlogging, potholes, and vehicle breakdowns, many users believe that timely advisories could have mitigated the chaos.

Advisory delays

Many ORR users reported traffic congestion on the morning of September 27 and again after 3 pm, but the traffic advisory from Bengaluru traffic police and ORRCA, was only posted on X (formerly Twitter) at around 6 pm. By that time, most users were already on the roads, stuck in traffic.

Huge Traffic pile up on ORR from Marathalli to Sarjapur. Pls instruct ITBT companies on ORR not to rush out because its huge jam due to invariably huge no of vehicles.

— DCP Traffic East ಉಪ ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಆಯುಕ್ತರು ಸಂಚಾರ ಪೂರ್ವ (@DCPTrEastBCP) September 27, 2023

ALERT: REQUESTING MEMBER COMPANIES TO INFORM YOUR EMPLOYEES TO EXTEND THEIR EXIT TIME, GRIDLOCK IN ORR, AWAIT FURTHER UPDATES SOON from @blrcitytraffic @DCPTrEastBCP

— Outer Ring Road Companies Association ® (@0RRCA) September 27, 2023

MN Anucheth, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) told Moneycontrol,  "We have a WhatsApp group with representatives from ORRCA that monitors the traffic situation, but we didn't anticipate the congestion would escalate to this extent. Around 3:50pm, there were vehicle breakdowns, followed by rain, which caused a traffic block. The exit of employees for home at the same time added to the gridlock."

He further explained that most employees report to office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and they have now asked ORRCA to stagger office timings and provide information on the number of vehicles on campuses. "ORR cannot handle excessive traffic due to ongoing metro rail work and other factors," he said

Taking lessons from the September 27 traffic jams, he said there are plans to deploy additional policemen and improve coordination and communication, especially before extended holidays.

According to a report submitted by the ORRCA to the traffic police, 6.4 lakh employees now commute daily between Silk Board and KR Puram, using 3.3 lakh vehicles, including personal cars and cabs.

Also read:  Why Bengaluru's tech corridor, Outer Ring Road, needs an urgent fix

Inefficient public transport

In 2016, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) prepared a detailed project report for ORR Metro (KR Puram-Central Silk Board), costing Rs 4,202 crore, meant  to be operational by 2021. However, the project received clearance from the Union government only in April 2021. The Central Silk Board-K R Puram  (Blue Line) is now expected to be completed only by 2025-2026.

Metro work has occupied 4.5 meters on both sides of the road, reducing the road width of the ORR. In September 2021, the Karnataka government requested tech parks along the ORR to extend their work-from-home period until December 2022 to reduce traffic congestion due to metro construction. Following public outrage, the government retracted the letter, saying that it was just an advisory.

In 2019, the state government launched bus priority lane, a dedicated bus corridor on the 17 km stretch between Central Silk Board and KR Puram, at a cost of Rs 14.3 crore. However, bollards segregating the bus lane were uprooted during the metro work.

While doubling of railway track along the 48-km Byappanahalli-Hosur section will benefit tech workers along the ORR, Sarjapur Road, and Hosur Road, it is only expected to be completed by December 2024.

The suburban rail project on ORR is also progressing slowly. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) emerged as the lowest bidder for the 46-km Kanaka line (Heelalige–Rajanukunte) of the Bengaluru suburban rail project on August 31.  However, K-RIDE (Rail Infrastructure Development Company [Karnataka] Limited), which is executing the work, is yet to issue the Letter of Acceptance (LoA). The Karnataka government has now extended the deadline for completing the long-pending 148-km Bengaluru suburban rail project (four corridors) to 2028.

Open Byappanahalli-KR Pura section: MPs

BJP MPs in Bengaluru have urged the state government to open the Byappanahalli-KR Pura section at the earliest. While Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) approved the commencement of passenger operations on the 2.1 km KR Pura-Byappanahalli section of the purple line on September 25, it has not yet been opened.

Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan said, “Bengaluru's tech hub, ORR, faced an unprecedented traffic jam, trapping techies, office-goers, and school buses for almost four hours. The Byappanahalli-KR Pura metro link could have eased this, but the state government's inaction, despite CMRS approval, prolongs the suffering.”

Bengaluru's tech hub, ORR, faced an unprecedented traffic jam, trapping techies, office-goers, and school buses for almost 4 hours.

The Baiyappanahalli-KR Pura metro link, could have eased this, but the State Govt's inaction, despite CMRS approval, prolongs the suffering. pic.twitter.com/LJEelVPRIU

— P C Mohan (@PCMohanMP) September 27, 2023

Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya wrote on X, “This stretch between Hoodi to Byappanahalli  should normally take less than 10 minutes by metro. But take a look at how long it takes by road. This has been the plight of Bangaloreans owing to repeated postponement of deadlines by BMRCL. They are dejected by these never-ending delays. Commuters have been patient even after many months of delays; let’s not put them through even one extra day of ordeal.”

This stretch between Hoodi to Baiyappanahalli should normally take less than 10 minutes in the Metro. But take a look how long it takes by road.

This has been plight of Bangaloreans owing to repeated postponement of deadlines by BMRCL. They are dejected by these never-ending… pic.twitter.com/nJa3a33iby

— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) September 27, 2023

What do users want?

While Byappanahalli-KR Pura section is expected to be operational by October 2023, and RV Road-Bommasandra (Yellow Line) is set to be completed by December 2023 - March 2024, there is a demand for feeder buses between KR Puram and Central Silk Board.

In a survey  of 3,855 respondents in Bengaluru as part of the Personal2Public campaign launched by NGOs, including the Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) and WRI India, 95 percent of the respondents who currently use private vehicles to reach their offices expressed their willingness to shift to the metro

Srinivas Alavilli from WRI India, said, "Traffic congestion on ORR is yet another proof that Bengaluru is growing, but the infrastructure is not keeping pace. A railway line is running parallel to the ORR, yet there are no dedicated suburban rail services. We are paying the price for not building an efficient public transport system 10-15 years ago. It is also a reminder of how a bus lane on the ORR would have helped in the smooth movement of buses."

Pruthvin Reddy, a rail enthusiast, suggested, "Traffic police should crowdsource information about vehicle breakdowns, accidents, and other congestion from the public. ORRCA could develop an app so citizens can report it. If we tow the affected vehicle to the service road without delays, the impact of congestion can be minimised."

ORR in a mess

Constructed in phases over six years from 1996 to 2002, the 60-km ORR encircles a large portion of the city and was intended to link major highways, facilitate faster travel, and alleviate congestion. However, the proliferation of tech parks and residential complexes on both sides of the ORR, particularly in southeast Bengaluru, adjacent to IT offices in Whitefield and Sarjapur Road, has led to congestion on this road.

ORR's poor design, coupled with the lack of parallel roads, means that a single truck breakdown, a  fallen tree, or waterlogging in a small section can bring the entire corridor to a standstill.

Areas along the ORR, such as Marathahalli, Bellandur, Silk Board, KR Puram, Hebbal, and Goraguntepalya, regularly suffer from severe traffic congestion. Two major road projects aimed at easing traffic congestion on the ORR, the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), and the Satellite Towns Ring Road (STRR), are progressing slowly.

Also read: Domino's delivers pizza to hungry Bengaluru traffic jam victims. Video is viral