Bengaluru Traffic Police asks tech parks to pay-and-park to cut ORR congestion

Bengaluru: In a bid to tackle the ever-increasing congestion along the Outer Ring Road, the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) have asked large tech parks and private companies to introduce a pay-and-park system on their premises. 

Aimed at discouraging the use of personal vehicles, this initiative could reduce congestion by 30%, top police officers who are working on different ways of easing the traffic flow on the tech corridor told DH. 

The government plans to collaborate with the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and other state transport bodies to create shared transport (bus pooling) services for IT companies. The goal is to design bus routes based on employees’ common commuting patterns, encouraging them to use shared transport instead of personal vehicles, thereby reducing traffic and congestion. 

The first request on parking fees was made to tech companies in a recent high-level meeting to discuss the ORR congestion problem. 

Besides senior government and police officers, Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Yulu Co-founder RK Misra were also present on the occasion. 

The traffic police pointed out that Bengaluru registers a staggering 3,000 new vehicles daily. The majority of IT employees use four-wheelers, even if they are single occupants, as they receive free parking at their companies.

The BTP estimates that if companies start charging parking fees, at least 10% will stop using their vehicles and switch to public transport. Thus, if 10% stop bringing vehicles, 30% of the congestion will be solved. 

However, Mazumdar-Shaw rejected the suggestion and countered it, telling the BTP to implement a congestion tax, a senior traffic police officer said. 

Sahil Bagla, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic, East), stated: “Mainly in the mornings, I have seen a lot of single drivers on the ORR. So as to mitigate the congestion, we suggested the idea to charge a parking fee on an experimental basis, as some might shift to public transport. They can also do voluntary, non-commercial carpooling. Four or five employees living in the same place can pool in.” 

The police also suggested that companies request public transport services, including bus stops, as per their requirements to address the congestion. 

Manas Das, president of the Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA), initially agreed that the suggestion would mitigate congestion to some extent but said it was “too early to implement” because all tech companies provide free parking space for their employees as they are forced to use their vehicles due to a lack of better options. 

He emphasised the need for increasing means of transportation, fixing road conditions and increasing the frequency of BMTC buses.

He also demanded that BMTC buses should drop off employees inside the tech parks. 

“Only then will employees be motivated to use public transportation. And after implementing all the above measures, only then can the parking fee be introduced,” he stated. 

However, Krishna Gowda of the Greater Bengaluru IT and Companies’ Association (GBICA) said it would be improbable to force high-earning tech professionals to use public transport. 

“Many IT professionals earn an average of Rs 5-6 lakh per month. How can we push them to use overcrowded metro trains and BMTC buses? How can we stop them from using their own cars even by imposing parking fees?” he asked.