Just 10 days after publicly pledging Rs 1 crore of his personal funds to tackle Bengaluru's notorious traffic woes, EaseMyTrip co-founder Prashant Pitti has announced significant strides in his ambitious project. On Thursday, he said that he is confident of improving the city's traffic by 25-30 percent in a year.
Pitti's initiative, born out of a personal harrowing experience of being stuck for over two hours covering just 11 kilometers on the Outer Ring Road, aims to leverage technology and data to optimise existing infrastructure rather than solely relying on new constructions. His initial pledge on July 14, to fund AI/ML engineers and access to Google Maps API data, satellite imagery, and GPU infrastructure, has quickly moved beyond a simple proposal.
In a recent X post, Pitti revealed a series of collaborative meetings with key public and private stakeholders, including commissioners from the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP), Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), City Police (CP), as well as representatives from Google, IISc professors, scientists, road engineers, and traffic-related entrepreneurs. "All three newly appointed commissioners were very kind to invite me to showcase existing capabilities AND collaborate to work together. For the first time, we are bringing all key public and private players - to the same table," the Easemytrip co-founder said.
Pitti's project outlines several "Quick Optimisation Projects" designed to bring immediate relief:
Bengaluru traffic simulators: Both BTP and IISc possess simulation models that can generate millions of re-routing permutations to reduce travel time. Pitti has requested data from major mobility service providers like Google, Uber, Ola, and Rapido to enhance these models' predictive capabilities. This aims to anticipate and mitigate gridlocks before they occur.
Fixing feedback loop: Taking ownership of the government's existing pothole reporting app, Pitti plans to expand its scope to include reporting illegal parking, broken signals, wrong-side driving, waterlogging, and broken vehicles. "I will also increase accountability and recognition by showcasing all the complaints lodged AND action-taken (along with time-stamp) publicly," Pitti wrote on X.
Hyperlocal rain predictor: To prevent work halts and resultant traffic congestion caused by unexpected rain on infrastructure/maintenance sites, Pitti proposes a hyperlocal rain predictor. This aims to improve planning for road closures and address drainage issues preemptively.
Green wave signals: A pilot project is already underway to synchronise traffic lights, allowing vehicles to move in waves rather than stopping at every junction. The results of this pilot will be analysed to determine city-wide feasibility.
Addressing critics who emphasise infrastructure as the sole solution, Pitti maintained that focusing on optimising current infrastructure is a more immediate and practical approach. "If we continue to wait for the infra to become better, then we are merely playing a catch-up game with the West," he stated. He stressed on a shift from "rants or blaming the system" to "practical optimism" driven by data, intent, and collaboration.
Pitti has also issued a call to action to the public, urging continued support through shares and comments to amplify the initiative and attract relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, he has invited commuters to join a WhatsApp community where he will share next steps and gather specific information on problem junctions or roads. "We need more info from each one of you. On which junction/road, you face massive traffic issues? So we can present them to the right authorities," the entrepreneur said.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
