Link: https://pixabay.com/photos/traffic-india-bangalore-rush-hour-7119689/
Bangalore’s traffic congestion has now reached legendary status, surpassing global metropolises like New York and London in terms of sheer unmanageability. Even short commutes here feel like epic sagas.
While other cities struggle with peak-hour congestion, Bangalore has managed to make traffic an all-day affair, with no concept of “non-peak” hours. They are road trips from hell.
Garden City to Gridlock City
Bangalore, once lovingly called the “Garden City” for its lush green spaces and breezy weather, is now infamous for something far less romantic—never-ending traffic gridlocks. The city’s rapid urbanization, exploding population, and absolutely no foresight in planning have turned it into a living nightmare for anyone who dares to step onto its roads.
Getting from point A to point B is nothing short of an arduous road trip—except without the bathroom breaks, food breaks or any semblance of joy.
If you live in the city or in the suburbs, congratulations! You are officially part of an unsanctioned reality show called “Survivor: Bangalore Roads”. Maybe I will pitch the idea to the producers of the Survivor series!
Bangalore’s Longest Traffic Prisons
Some roads in Bangalore are so notoriously congested that they deserve their own horror movie franchise. Here are some of the worst offenders:
- Whitefield & Varthur – Once peaceful suburbs, now a never-ending sea of IT professionals stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for eternity.
- Kundalahalli – You could leave for work in the morning and still be stuck there when your kids graduate college.
- Sarjapur Road – The ultimate test of patience. This road alone could turn a Zen monk into a raging maniac.
- Silk Board Junction – The undisputed king of traffic jams. If Silk Board had an official slogan, it would be: “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”
These are just a few examples. In reality, the entire city feels like one giant parking lot without a cozy roof to shield you.
Why is Bangalore’s Traffic So Horrendous?
1. Too Many Vehicles, Not Enough Road
With lakhs of cars and two-wheelers hitting the streets every year, Bangalore’s road network simply cannot keep up. There’s a limit to how many vehicles a road can handle, and let’s be real—the city crossed that limit sometime back in 2013, or maybe earlier.
2. Roads That Feel Like The Moon’s Surface
Even if by some miracle there’s no traffic, you still have to deal with roads that resemble a battlefield. Highways are littered with asteroid-sized potholes. Some roads have been dug up so often that even archaeologists are confused about which era they’re from.
3. No One Follows Traffic Rules
Traffic rule – WTF is that?
In Bangalore, traffic lights are just a suggestion, lane discipline is a myth, and zebra crossings exist purely for aesthetic purposes. Oh wait, they don’t exist except in CBD areas!
Auto drivers, two-wheeler riders, and SUV owners all follow their own unique versions of the Motor Vehicles Act, which, unfortunately, no one else understands. Don’t even get me started on the bigger vehicles, the true rowdies of the roads.
4. Traffic Mismanagement: The Art of Making Things Worse
- Not Enough Traffic Police – The few traffic cops on duty are either overwhelmed or playing hide-and-seek with offenders.
- Poorly Trained Personnel – Controlling traffic is an art, but in Bangalore, it looks like an abstract painting gone wrong.
- Bizarre Traffic Control Decisions – Ever been stuck on Old Airport Road while cops halt a six-lane highway to let a few bikes from a tiny side lane pass? If not, you haven’t truly experienced Bangalore.
- Drivers Who Somehow Manage Themselves Better When There’s No Police – Some intersections actually flow better without any cops because drivers are forced to use common sense. Go figure.
5. Monsoon: The Final Boss of Bangalore Traffic
As if things weren’t bad enough, the monsoon arrives like a villain in a disaster movie. Thanks to rampant lake-bed encroachments, Bangalore floods faster than a leaky boat.
Major roads like Outer Ring Road transform into rivers, complete with stranded office-goers looking like survivors from Titanic.
Possible Solutions: List of Unfulfilled Promises
1. End BBMP’s Pothole Obsession
BBMP has a long going love-affair with potholes. Which is why those asteroid-sized craters are retained very carefully. Of course until the election season, when suddenly, patchwork fixes appear like magic.
If only they understood the concept of maintaining roads regularly, instead of treating them like last-minute homework assignments or a five-year plans that never materialize.
2. Speed Up Metro Construction
The metro is the city’s only hope for redemption, at least partially. But thanks to bureaucratic red tape, construction is slower than Bangalore traffic itself.
Stop the delays, cut the nonsense, and finish the damn metro! So that our great grandchildren can use it.
3. Where Are the Underground Tunnels?
Minister DK Shivakumar had a grand vision for underground tunnels to decongest the city.
Sounds amazing, but where’s the budget? Where’s the execution? If corruption isn’t tackled, we might as well start digging our own tunnels.
4. Ban Heavy Vehicles During Peak Hours
Why are massive trucks, transportation vehicles, road rollers, bulldozers and tractors allowed on busy city roads during peak time? Have you ever seen a double-trolleyed tractor try to make a U-turn on ORR? It’s like watching a slow-motion apocalypse.
5. Coordinate Civic Work, For The Love of God!
Why do civic agencies dig up perfectly fine roads just after they’re paved? Bangalore’s road maintenance plan is basically: Fix it, break it, dig it up, leave it unfinished, repeat.
Planning and scheduling construction outside peak hours would save millions of people from unnecessary suffering.
6. Ban Two-wheelers on Highways
Recently, the new Bangalore Chennai highway banned all two-wheelers to reduce accidents. A great decision which should be implemented across all busy roads like Outer Ring Road, Old Madras Road, Hosur Road, Bellary Road and other such highways.
This opinion draws a lot of flak because many commuters resort to two-wheelers to get around the city fast.
However, most two-wheeler drivers, even the educated ones have zero respect for rules and behave like hooligans even when they are at fault. They overtake from the wrong side, take sudden turns and change lanes without giving signals, the list is endless. Two-wheelers in Bangalore are a big menace to safe drivers who do follow the rules.
The Harsh Reality
Have you seen the Doctor Who episode where drivers in England spend an entire year in their van-cum-mobile-home across various vertical air-traffic lanes?
Perhaps, we are nearing that reality, except we don’t have flying cars yet, in India. And if we did, we would simply have air traffic on top of road traffic.
Bangalore’s traffic isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a soul-crushing, time-sucking menace that affects productivity, mental health, and overall quality of life.
While some improvements may happen, don’t expect a miracle anytime soon. Until then, brace yourself, carry extra snacks, and maybe invest in a portable toilet for your car. After all, surviving Bangalore traffic is the ultimate endurance test.
