Bangalore Traffic - problems & solutions

An overall consensus is evolving that the automobile-centric development model pursued so far is not suited to Bangalore (or any of the other Indian cities), and that there has to be a paradigm shift to mobility based on public transport rather than on individualised forms of transport.

Given this premise, let us project a future commuting scenario which will be relevant to a major section of the city’s population.

Commuting time
A) A walk of a maximum of 500 M to the nearest shuttle bus stop - 5 min.
B) Waiting period for the shuttle bus - 5 min.
C) Shuttle bus ride to the connecting Trunk bus stop, or TTMC/ NM (Namma Metro) station - 15 min.
D) Waiting period for the Trunk bus/ NM - 5 min
E) Trunk bus ride say to a distance of 20 Km @ min 20 Kmph - 60 min.
F) Wait for the shuttle bus connection at the destination end - 5 min.
G) Shuttle bus ride - 15 min.
H) Max 500 M walk to the destination - 5 min.

Thus, the total time taken to cover a distance of 20 Km+ will be 115 min. If there isn't a Trunk route linking your destination, an additional interchange may be required at stage (E) above entailing an additional travel time of 5 minutes, making for a total of 120 min.

This is the near - maximum case scenario, barring of course the types who commute between say Whitefield and Bidadi. The average will be well below this level. On a comparison, all of us are already spending far more time than that whatever our present mode of commute.

Commuting Cost
Assuming uniform 'per ride' fare (irrespective of the distance travelled) of Rs 8/- (Rs 20/- for VOLVO) on Trunk buses, and Rs 5/- on shuttle buses, it will cost a commuter Rs 18/- for the 20 Km trip (Rs 30/- in case of VOLVO on Trunk route; and Rs 26/-and Rs 50/- resply if there is an additional interchange). As compared to that, even with a Maruti 800, the fuel charge itself will work out to Rs 120/-; and, with a Hero Honda bike, it will work out to Rs 20/-. If taking an auto, it will cost you Rs 140/-.  

Facilitation
Let us examine each stage and see how things can be made easier for the commuter.

A) Excellent, tree-lined, pedestrian pathways, with automatic right of way (over motorised forms of transport) at road crossings (A study by an expert on urban transport has shown that a large part of the commute is by walk and by bicycle).

B) Aesthetically designed shelters, along bus-bays.

C) The shuttle services will generally be to link the commuter to the Trunk route services (and to NM stations, as and when they are commissioned) closest to the locality. They can generally be operated using the 'Swaraj Mazda' type buses, with generally more standing space than sitting. A typical shuttle circuit will not exceed 10 Km, and, at an average 20 Kmph, even the farthest distance of 5 Km (half of 10 Km) can be covered in 15 min. If the waiting period is not to exceed 5 min, you will need 6 buses per 10 Km circuit. Thus, for an area like Koramagala, with some 3 circuits covering the entire area, you will need a fleet of 18 buses for effective operations during the peak hours.

This service is best farmed out to private service providers.

D) TTMC design will be similar in design to NM station, with all the requisite passenger amenities and facilitation. Both will in addition have 500 M radius pedestrianised zones (barring access lanes for the buses and pick-up and drop-off vehicles) around them.

E) Instead of spreading the services thin on hundreds of routes as at present, if BMTC concentrates on the Trunk routes, it should be in a position to provide services at 5 minute frequency on all the routes even during peak hours. For the buses to be able to achieve a minimum speed of 20 Kmph, lanes have to be marked out for their exclusive use during peak hours. On narrow stretches, private vehicles may even be totally barred from entry (during peak hours).

If the lane dedicating exercise, through just marking, proves ineffective over a 3-month trial period, an attempt may be made to further incentivise the car users to taking to buses by handing over the high-end bus services to (say) TATA's/ TVS.

If this doesn’t prove enough of an incentive, they may then be nudged with the threat of embarking on instituting permanently dedicated lanes with physical barriers, sector by sector, like in Delhi.

The dedicated lanes can have under/ overpasses at junctions. On narrow stretches, these may be one-way dedicated lanes, with the return routes being along parallel roads.

Size of Operation
The total number of vehicles on Bangalore roads, as per CTTP-07, was supposed to be 32 lakhs. Of this, the %ages for the different types of vehicles, users of which could be made to switch to using buses, was as at W in the table below, accounting for numbers as at X.

Assuming 80% of cars and 2-wheelers, and all the autos, being used during peak hours, the total number of these vehicles on the roads (at the peak hour) is seen as at Y. Further, assuming that 90% of cars and auto’s and 95% of 2-wheelers are carrying just one passenger, and the remaining carrying just 2 passengers, the number of people traveling totals as at Z.

The report by Dr Madhav Badami (visiting professor at IIM-B) had indicated that unlike in the West, a very high %age of trips made by people in Indian cities was for commuting for work and education related purposes. Assuming this at a conservative 50% of the 25 lakh odd people traveling, and assuming that they can all be made to switch to using buses, the number of buses required (with average capacity of 50 passengers, including standing) would be over 25,000.

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And, these 25,000 will eliminate the usage of nearly half of the 23,74,400 vehicles (the figure in the last row under Y), leaving a nett of just 12,12,200 vehicles.

This, and more, can be achieved if the bus services are operated efficiently, simultaneously solving many of the traffic related problems faced by the city.

This is where the private sector could come in, particularly since this size and level of operation cannot anyway be left to be handled by the monopoly BMTC. The private sector will be more than happy to invest in the Rs 3,000 cr required for the 25,000 buses, at say an average Rs 12 lakhs per bus, if its entry is properly facilitated by necessary policy initiatives.

The advantage of the bus is its cost-effectiveness and flexibility, compared to any other existing system in the world. And, for those who swear by METRO, it will perhaps come as a surprise to know that the London Bus Service, between its 8,000 odd buses(over 90% privately operated), carries nearly 6.5 million passengers every day, about twice that carried by the London METRO (known better as UNDERGROUND), built over almost a century with huge capital outlays.