Stuck in Bengaluru traffic, woman works on laptop on Rapido bike

Bengaluru is known for its bustling tech industry and notorious traffic congestion. Commuters in the city often find themselves spending hours stuck in gridlocks, desperately trying to make it to their destinations on time. However, amidst the chaos of the daily commute and never-ending congestion, one woman had to turn her travel time into a work session.

A photo shared on Twitter captured a moment of a woman working on her laptop while riding pillion on a Rapido bike through the congested streets of Bengaluru. The image was shared by a Twitter user who labelled it as a "Peak Bangalore moment."

Peak Bangalore moment. Women working on a rapido bike ride to the office. #TrafficJam #TrafficAlert #bangaloretraffic #Bangalore #roadblock #peakbangalore pic.twitter.com/bubbMj3Qbs

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— Nihar Lohiya (@nihar_lohiya) May 16, 2023

The photograph was taken along the Koramangala-Agara-Outer Ring Road patch, a route notorious for its traffic snarls. The traffic congestion on the stretch today was caused by a fallen tree, which had been hit by a truck near the military gate of the service road near Ibbalur on the Outer Ring Road. The deputy commissioner of police (traffic south division), Sujeetha Salman, took to Twitter to inform commuters about the incident and urged them to take alternate routes.

Social media platforms were flooded with posts from frustrated citizens, sharing their experiences of spending hours stuck in traffic. One person recounted spending a whopping three hours on the road before giving up and returning home in defeat.

This incident also highlights the growing need of remote work and the flexibility it offers. However, users pointed out that many companies are not allowing “work from home” despite the severe traffic problem in the city.

“Problem is with IT companies also. Work getting done from WFH but still they want people to work from office. they really need to think WFH in Bangalore or other cities,” one user tweeted.

So so so angry that I’m laughing
Dear HR managers of work from office companies in Bangalore, pls listen pic.twitter.com/KcBmnrUjCZ

— Ankit.Today (@ankitv) May 16, 2023

Content creator Ankit Vengurlekar expressed his frustration with a video. “I think its high time that companies start incorporating a new kind of allowance as a part of salary for people who work in Bangalore and are asked to come to office. You can call it ‘mental trauma allowance’ for being forced to drive in Bangalore traffic, ‘survival allowance’ for surviving Bangalore traffic or you can word it ‘poor choices allowance’ for choosing to live, work, travel, commute in this city. Beyond a point you get so angry that it actually becomes comedy,” he said.

He clarified that although he loved the city, the traffic problem was frustrating.

Read - Bengaluru's traffic nightmare: Techies stuck in IT corridors for hours, many return home

Another pointed out that although employees urged for work from home stuck in traffic, the main problem was with the city’s failing infrastructure.

“All those Bangalore folks venting out against their HR folks about today's crazy traffic situation and about being forced to come to the office instead of WFH, please point your figures at the authorities who have screwed up the infrastructure so badly,” the user wrote.

Bengaluru’s growing population, inadequate infrastructure, unplanned urbanisation and lack of effective public transportation options, all contribute to the city's traffic nightmares. The public infrastructure in the city's tech corridor was a key election issue in the recently concluded Karnataka assembly elections.