Empty Bus Lanes add to traffic congestion!

By Aratrika Dey

Citizens a concern over bus priority lanes going empty, while contending that the current system has reduced the road capacity for regular traffic, resulting in heavy congestion. Special mention is made about the stretch from Outer Ring Road to Marathahalli. “For bus connectivity, frequency is critical. Unless a mobility plan with a scientific approach is adopted, these efforts (employing the bus priority lane scheme within the city’s infrastructure) will be just for the books,” according to Kasavanahalli Development Forum. 

Still a work in progress

In late 2019, Bengaluru was introduced to bus priority lanes to overcome the problem of traffic congestion. However, this special effort has not helped in reducing the travel time for commuters. According to the TomTom Traffic Index 2020, Bengaluru was ranked the world’s sixth-worst and India’s second-worst city when it comes to traffic congestion.

WFH and bus frequency

The work-from-home culture and the low frequency of buses could be one reason for the empty bus lanes. Says environmental activist and champion of sustainable living Malini Parmar: “Sarjapur Road is serviced by only one bus – the 342 that goes to the market. Nothing to Whitefield.” Although a few other buses are available along this route, their inconsistency has led people to not depend on them while commuting to work or school.

Bus commuters’ rights group Bus Prayanikara Vedike has asked netizens to identify the specific spots and times when the bus lanes are empty. They have promised to observe the scenario along the thoroughfare. Sajin V observed that private omnibuses towards AP and TS states are parked from the multiplex to Marathahalli bus station in the middle lane to pick up passengers in the evenings. This leaves just one lane for commuters. “They have made bus lanes over flyovers too, in places where buses don’t go over it,” he remarked. 

End to end transport

While some netizens believe that the authorities should have planned the project better, some like Raghuraman LN believe that the people of Bengaluru are the ‘laziest’ by nature who would prefer “to sit on a vehicle from doorstep to destination point” instead of using buses for their daily commute, because of which traffic will remain a persistent pain.

Bus lanes are inconsistent and not well-defined

A common concern among the citizens seems to be that the bus lanes are not clearly defined. “The bus lane pillars go unnoticed,” says Arun Varma, when connecting from a service lane to the main road, exposing people to being hit by speeding vehicles. Roshan Baliga said: “The effectiveness of the bus lane has been rendered moot by the pandemic. WFH (work from home) will be the new normal post-pandemic and congestion should not be that big of an issue. The only major issue is the extremely poor design of merge ins and outs into service roads.”  

On the opposite of all those who disagree with the bus priority lanes, Swaminathan Ramani claims: “I have seen buses using the lane often. Two days ago, the other vehicles using the bus lane were being caught near the Silk Board junction. But in many stretches of Outer Ring Road, the road is not broad enough to have a dedicated bus lane. It makes the rest of the road too narrow.”

The argument continues. 

Pics courtesy: Kasavanahalli Development Forum