<p>Traffic jams returned on the 17-km Outer Ring Road stretch between Silk Board Junction and KR Puram as office goers resumed work on Monday.</p>.<p>The corridor, long known for congestion, is undergoing redevelopment at an estimated cost of Rs 450 crore.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the Bengaluru City Police plan to add an extra lane by reclaiming space currently occupied by barricades.</p>.<p>“Wherever possible, we plan to move the barricades along the road in an attempt to widen both the main carriageway and the service roads. This will lend an additional lane on the main carriageway and help with easing traffic chokepoints such as Iblur Junction, Hebbal and KR Puram,” Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh told DH, adding that trial work had begun along certain stretches.</p>.<p>Singh said efforts would continue to push staggered office timings and encourage public transport and carpooling in 2026. “I plan to meet the ORR company representatives soon. We cannot force them to follow this, but we want to push these as the top solutions for congestion.” </p>.<p>The Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA) said nearly 80% of firms in the area have adopted a four-day work-from-office schedule, with most staff attending offices between Monday and Thursday.</p>.<p>“Implementing the staggered timing model has been discussed before, but it has not been fruitful. From our end, this year, we are pushing companies to incentivise public transport as much as possible,” said Manas Das, president of the association.</p>.<p><strong>Plan in limbo</strong></p>.<p>The Bus Priority Lane, proposed to return in 2026, has seen no progress. “The previous traffic police chief and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) MD were keen on bringing it back. But the new officers in these posts have not shown interest. This keeps changing with frequent transfers,” said an urban expert working with the government.<br><br>GT Prabhakar Reddy, Chief Traffic Manager (Operations), BMTC, said feeder bus services to tech parks continue, but have few users. “Pre Covid, these services did well. We issued a dual pass allowing access to feeder buses and regular BMTC services. Post Covid, however, the services never picked up,” he said.</p>
<p>Traffic jams returned on the 17-km Outer Ring Road stretch between Silk Board Junction and KR Puram as office goers resumed work on Monday.</p>.<p>The corridor, long known for congestion, is undergoing redevelopment at an estimated cost of Rs 450 crore.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the Bengaluru City Police plan to add an extra lane by reclaiming space currently occupied by barricades.</p>.<p>“Wherever possible, we plan to move the barricades along the road in an attempt to widen both the main carriageway and the service roads. This will lend an additional lane on the main carriageway and help with easing traffic chokepoints such as Iblur Junction, Hebbal and KR Puram,” Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh told DH, adding that trial work had begun along certain stretches.</p>.<p>Singh said efforts would continue to push staggered office timings and encourage public transport and carpooling in 2026. “I plan to meet the ORR company representatives soon. We cannot force them to follow this, but we want to push these as the top solutions for congestion.” </p>.<p>The Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA) said nearly 80% of firms in the area have adopted a four-day work-from-office schedule, with most staff attending offices between Monday and Thursday.</p>.<p>“Implementing the staggered timing model has been discussed before, but it has not been fruitful. From our end, this year, we are pushing companies to incentivise public transport as much as possible,” said Manas Das, president of the association.</p>.<p><strong>Plan in limbo</strong></p>.<p>The Bus Priority Lane, proposed to return in 2026, has seen no progress. “The previous traffic police chief and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) MD were keen on bringing it back. But the new officers in these posts have not shown interest. This keeps changing with frequent transfers,” said an urban expert working with the government.<br><br>GT Prabhakar Reddy, Chief Traffic Manager (Operations), BMTC, said feeder bus services to tech parks continue, but have few users. “Pre Covid, these services did well. We issued a dual pass allowing access to feeder buses and regular BMTC services. Post Covid, however, the services never picked up,” he said.</p>