Stagger office timings, promote carpooling and shuttle buses: Bengaluru police tell tech firms

Outer Ring Road

Staggered office timings, carpooling, and dedicated buses for employees are among the traffic-reduction measures suggested by the Bengaluru city police to companies in the city's tech corridor. This comes on the heels of Hyderabad implementing similar measures to deal with gridlocked traffic.

Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda and senior police officials attended Samparka Divasa, an outreach programme preceding Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara's meeting with IT-BT companies on the Outer Ring Road, which is the tech corridor of Bengaluru.

The meeting took place at Ecospace Business Park in Bellandur on the Outer Ring Road from 11 am to 1 pm on August 9 with representatives from tech companies and the Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA) to discuss various issues, ranging from traffic management to safety.

MN Anucheth, Joint Commissioner of Police (Bengaluru Traffic), told Moneycontrol that they suggested several measures to ORRCA and tech companies to streamline traffic. These measures include staggering office timings, particularly for log-outs; promoting carpooling; facilitating dedicated buses for employees; providing cab parking within the campus; and introducing shuttle buses from Metro stations to offices.

"Staggering office timings will help us streamline traffic, especially during evening hours. We don't intend to impose specific timings on them but rather encourage them to come up with suitable timings based on their internal assessments. This way, the log-outs of different companies won't coincide," he explained.

Cyberabad Police had also advised IT companies to practice work-from-home (WFH) and gradually stagger log-outs.

Anucheth said that they proposed dedicated buses for employees working on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and emphasised carpooling to reduce the number of private vehicles on the ORR.

Moneycontrol had reported that 6.4 lakh employees commute daily between Silk Board and KR Puram, using 3.3 lakh vehicles, including personal cars and cabs.

Anucheth said, "Private cabs are currently parked on the service roads of ORR. We've suggested allowing the creation of parking spaces for these vehicles within the campuses, given that they are used by their employees."

He also urged ORRCA to operate buses to the nearest Metro stations, similar to the Electronics City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA), to provide last-mile connectivity to employees.

Anucheth said, "Once the KR Puram-Byappanahalli section and Silk Board station (RV Road-Bommasandra) are operational, ORRCA and companies can conduct an origin and destination study to identify the catchment areas from where these employees are coming. This would enable the provision of first-mile, last-mile connectivity for employees."

While the KR Puram-Byappanahalli Metro section is expected to be operational by August-September 2023, the Silk Board station is likely to be ready by December 2023.

Dayanand said that managing Bengaluru traffic is a formidable task. "Everyone seems to have opinions on traffic management, much like cricket experts. Strengthening public transport and ensuring pedestrian safety are crucial. In fact, pedestrians are more vulnerable to accidents. BMTC has nearly 40 lakh daily riders, so it should get more priority. Various agencies are involved in the city's mobility planning." He also invited tech firms to visit the Traffic Management Centre on Infantry Road to witness how they manage the city's traffic.

Dayanand told Moneycontrol that the interaction with ORRCA and companies was effective. "The major issue was traffic, but we also explained our plans and sought their suggestions. We are also working on various initiatives to decongest the traffic," he said.

ORRCA was unavailable for comment.

Techies are victims in 90% cyber fraud cases: police

Meanwhile, S Girish, deputy commissioner of police, Whitefield division, said, "Tech professionals are victims in over 90 percent of cyber fraud cases, underscoring the need for greater awareness. Recently, a techie fell victim to a Rs 1.5-crore cyber fraud. Instances of fraud, such as OTP fraud, part-time job scams, loan fraud, and investment fraud, are abundant." He further revealed that they receive numerous complaints about two-wheeler and laptop thefts from companies in the tech corridor.

Built in phases between 1996 and 2002, the 60-km ORR encircling a significant portion of the city aims to connect major highways for faster travel and reduced congestion in Bengaluru. However, the ORR's flawed design, coupled with the absence of parallel roads, means that a single truck breakdown, fallen tree, or waterlogging can bring the entire tech corridor to a standstill.