Regular commuters say travel time has shot up due to multiple bottlenecks

Shridhar, an IT professional working in Whitefield and a resident of Richmond Road, missed the office bus for his 20 km travel recently, and had to take a BMTC bus. By the time the journey ended more than two hours later, he was exhausted.

“The office bus takes a different route as the traffic is bad at Marathahalli, and metro construction causes the traffic to slow down. If I take the BMTC bus, my journey increases by around 45 minutes. During peak commuting time, it takes over two hours to get to my workplace,” he said.

For most people, the daily commute from and to Whitefield, especially from the Central Business District and beyond, is a struggle, which is now compounded by the construction of a signal-free corridor (Trinity Circle to Whitefield) and Namma Metro. Both projects aim to ease congestion in the long run, but for now, commuters have to bear the brunt of the work.

The Hindu reporters took a bus from Kempegowda bus stand to International Tech Park Bangalore (ITPL), Whitefield. The commute time exceeded the estimated time of arrival (according to Google Maps) by 45 minutes.

Among the major bottlenecks is Kundalahalli junction, where one of the underpasses of the signal-free corridor is being constructed. Apart from this, motorists encounter bottlenecks at multiple spots where construction of the metro line is under way.

Murali Krishnan, a doctor who commutes from Marathahalli to Whitefield by BMTC buses, said, “If there is no traffic, I can reach my workplace in 15 minutes. But during peak hours, I’m stuck on the road for 45 minutes. Spots where metro construction is under way are the worst. I usually utilise the time on the road to watch medical lectures on my phone.”

Another regular commuter, who travels from Majestic to ITPL, says, “Mornings are the worst as I need to leave for work two hours in advance. I spend two hours on the bus doing nothing. Sometimes, I listen to music or take short naps,” .

Pravir B., a long-time resident of Whitefield, said the ongoing metro construction is one of the major factors contributing to traffic congestion, with the signal-free corridor project adding to the chaos. “If there is no traffic, one can cover a 10-km stretch in six minutes. But a 10 km stretch on the signal-free corridor takes about 1.5 hours. The Kundalahalli junction underpass is one of the worst bottlenecks.”

A member of Whitefield Rising said the traffic situation is going to get worse with three IT parks coming up in the area.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials said there is little they can do now as the signal-free corridor project is in progress. “We have sanctioned three underpasses and we are working on them. There is nothing we can do about the travel time. People have to find alternative routes, like Old Madras Road.”

But Lokesh M.J.., a traffic police inspector at K.R. Puram, said there are no alternative routes to Whitefield as traffic is bad even around K.R. Puram, especially with metro construction.

There may not be an end soon to the chaos. Regarding completion of the corridor project, a senior official from the BBMP said, “The project has run into a roadblock. We might be able to complete the project by December this year.”