Commute

The traffic congestion at Outer Ring Road (ORR)-Sarjapura Road has been a long-standing issue. To address this, Citizen Matters held a panel discussion, ‘Solving Sarjapura-ORR Gridlock’ on February 26th. Moderated by Meera K, co-founder of Citizen Matters, the panel included G T Prabhakar Reddy, Chief Traffic Manager, BMTC; Vivekanand Kotikalapudi, Urban Mobility Advisor; Mukund Kumar, Managing Trustee, Iblur Environs Trust; and Srinivas Alavilli, Fellow- Integrated Transport and Road Safety, WRI India.  Sarjapura Road is an integral connection to the IT corridor of south-east Bengaluru. ORR is completely developed with a focus on tech parks. There is currently a surge in…

Read more

Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra recently launched the Mumbai Metropolis  Metaverse, an immersive virtual representation of the way Mumbai will look by the year 2025. This metaverse includes twelve infrastructure projects, which is said will transform Mumbai. One of these projects is the Mumbai Metro. Citizen Matters looks at existing Metro Lines, their connections with Central and Western suburban railways and the prominent areas/stations they connect. Which are the three lines currently operational in Mumbai? Blue Line or Line 1 On 8th June, 2014 the first metro line was started in Mumbai. It was dubbed the Blue…

Read more

The recent spurt of States announcing free public bus travel for women has led to much commentary on women freeloading off the hardworking men; of women roaming the streets with no purpose; of greater financial burden on transport undertakings who are already in the red; and of course, a general sense of this being unfair — why do only women get to travel free? To analyse these claims and assess the benefits and drawbacks of the fare-free bus scheme for women, Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG) surveyed 3,000 women across six cities in Tamil Nadu, two years after…

Read more

Pune, with its vibrant culture, historical significance, and dynamic population, is a city of contrasts. On one hand, the city has stood as a beacon of progress and innovation amidst the picturesque landscapes of Maharashtra. On the other, just like many bustling metropolises across the globe today, it faces the daunting challenge of balancing rapid urbanisation with sustainable development, particularly when it comes to mobility. Pune boasted a rich legacy of promoting eco-friendly modes of transportation and was once celebrated as the "cycling city" of India. Since as early as 1966, visionary plans for cycling infrastructure were already on the…

Read more

On February 1st, union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the final (Interim) budget from the current government that will seek an electoral mandate in a few weeks from now. The minister’s speech had only two major announcements on urban public transport: one, that e-buses would be encouraged, and two, that Metro Rail and NaMo Bharat trains would be further supported in large cities. This followed the same pattern of allocation for transport that the union government has made over the five years of its current term. Indian cities have been grappling to contain heavy traffic and emissions from the large…

Read more

With the operation of southbound buses shifted from Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) in Koyambedu to Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus (KCBT) in Kilambakkam, there is not much clarity about the bus services among commuters. Kavin, who lives in Arumbakkam, was one among those affected by the confusion over transition of the bus stand from Koyambedu to Kilambakkam. He booked a ticket to Dindigul in an Omni bus in January-end and chose the pick-up point as Vadapalani. The bus should have picked him up at the designated stop at 9 pm. At 8 pm, he got a call from the travel…

Read more

When Jitendra Dixit, a journalist and author, who lives in Wadala, went by the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) or Atal Setu, he found that it barely saved him 5-10 minutes from Mumbai to Pune in spite of paying a toll of Rs 250.   The MTHL, which connects Navi Mumbai and south Mumbai, was inaugurated with great fanfare on January 12th 2024. But the toll fee seems to have put off a lot of people, because in its first month till February 13th 2024, only 8,13,774 commuters had used it. It collected revenue of Rs 1, 39, 585,310 with a…

Read more

Over the last few years, there has been a proliferation of ride-hailing apps in Bengaluru, from Namma Yatri to Nano Travels. The Karnataka government is even planning to launch its own ride-hailing app, as per reports. While some commuters continue to use Uber and Ola, there are some who are satisfied with local apps. This article analyses what alternative apps have to offer vis-a-vis Uber and Ola.  Nano Travels: Benefiting drivers and commuters, following rules G Narayana Swamy, a Bengaluru-based cab driver, is steering the ride-hailing industry with his Nano Travels, operating within a 70 km radius in the city.…

Read more

When the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link or Atal Setu was nearing completion, the most discussed issue about the project was not about it being an engineering marvel, but what the toll charges were likely to be. Whether it is the Mumbai-Pune Expressway or the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, when a project that improves the road connectivity for people, invariably tolls are charged - sometimes to recover project costs and later for maintenance. As more and more projects get unveiled, commuters feel frustrated about various toll charges they pay to use the roads that may ease and facilitate their travel, but escalate…

Read more

Sarjapura Road gridlock continues to haunt Bengalureans for several years now. Over the years, several solutions have been planned, but it has done little to alleviate the issue. The issues More than 15,000 cars (PCU) every hour at the Sarjapur Road-ORR junction 75,000-1 lakhs commuters - more than 50% of office goers take private transport Footpaths non-existent Last mile connectivity - There are no bus routes servicing inner roads. Some roads are too narrow for BMTC buses Metro on Sarjapur Road will take a few years What solution addresses this mess: Road widening, elevated ways and flyovers, more BMTC buses,…

Read more