Bengaluru needs radical ideas and swift action

Bengaluru, currently home to a population of 1.3 crore people, has seen a 466% increase in its built-up area from 1973 to 2000

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, in a meeting on Thursday chaired by the Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) Nitin Gadkari on Decongesting Bengaluru, announced that the state government would introduce the much awaited BMLTA (Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority) Bill in the upcoming session of the Assembly. It is believed that this authority will greatly help address the public mobility crisis of the city.

The mobility crisis in the city is real. It is the natural by-product of the city’s quick and largely unplanned growth. Bengaluru, currently home to a population of 1.3 crore people, has seen a 466 per cent increase in its built-up area from 1973 to 2000. This unplanned growth is exerting great stress on the city’s roads. The carrying capacity of the roads has not increased at the pace at which the people and vehicular population has increased. Though successive governments have made efforts to augment the public transport system, the demand has always outgrown supply.

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Setting up BMLTA: In the absence of a seamless, reliable, affordable and accessible multi-modal public transport system that can operate at scale, Bengaluru has today a large number of private vehicles, at around 1.2 crore. While BMTC’s near stagnant fleet size is not adequate to provide punctual, comfortable and reliable service even in routes in the core areas, the pace of metro construction, though improved under this government, can be better. There are multiple agencies and departments - BMTC, BMRCL, DULT, PWD, traffic police and suburban railway - that operate in the public mobility space and they mostly operate in silos. The BMLTA, which will be an umbrella organisation for all the transport parastatals, will hopefully address the problem of lack of coordination and long term planning.

Smaller buses plying shorter routes for last-mile connectivity: A commuter in Bengaluru will opt for a public bus service if just these criteria are guaranteed - assured service, assured seat and assured travel time. But with the BMTC, it is noticed that its fleet size has remained constant at about 6,763 for the last few years, seats are almost never available and the buses are perpetually delayed. It is estimated that around 6,000 more buses of various sizes (smaller buses plying on shorter routes) are required for Bengaluru.

It is therefore imperative that innovative models of providing bus transport services are explored, where other players through PPP models can ply routes which are not or cannot be serviced by the BMTC. This will improve last-mile connectivity by providing more routes with buses of various sizes to suit Bengaluru’s smaller roads, thereby bringing in efficiency to the public bus network. It will also bring in more competition and employment opportunities and provide the citizen the best possible service and ease of mobility.

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Efficient use of metro network: Bengaluru is also rapidly expanding its metro network. From 56 km now to over 172 km that is planned with the Phase 2A, 2B and Airport lines, Bengaluru metro will become the commuter’s most preferred choice of public transport and is expected to serve a combined daily ridership of 7.5 lakh in 2025. The metro infrastructure is being built at a cost of Rs 350 crore per kilometre. With such a huge investment being made at the expense of the taxpayer, there is also a need to make the most efficient use of the metro by facilitating space for commercial complexes and offices within 1 km of the metro. For this, the Government of Karnataka has to further permit an increase in the FAR ratio to allow more commercial complexes to come up within a 500-1km metre radius of every metro station. In the Master Plan 2030 for the city, the existing land use around metro lines should prioritise the development of commercial areas.

Connecting North-South and East-West: Bengaluru’s average trip time is already at around 60 minutes and without urgent intervention it could increase to upwards of 75 minutes by 2030, according to a study by WRI India. North-South and East-West connectivity through elevated corridors with priority bus lanes will ease mobility and be a fillip to public transportation, reducing the commute time for the passenger.

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With land acquisition being the biggest hurdle in easing mobility in the city, multi-tier elevated roads and cable cars in high density areas could be an innovative solution as they do not require additional real estate. Trolley buses are another economic alternative with reduced cost and increased capacity. Buses with state-of-the-art facilities such as Wi-Fi, charging points, etc will encourage citizens to use public transport, reducing private vehicles on our roads. Bengaluru has already been awarded 922 electric buses by the Union government under the FAME scheme.

Standardising road widths: Varying road-widths along several stretches of the city lead to bottlenecks as seen at the Airport Road-Hebbal flyover junction. Ensuring uniform road width as far as possible is a must to accommodate additional capacity and reduce such bottlenecks across the city.

Bengaluru must also strive to become a pothole-free city. The Indian Road Congress (IRC) has laid down the standards for road constructions. Contractors must be made to adhere to these standards strictly to ensure quality of roads and the safety of traffic. An efficient inspection, evaluation and measurement system should be developed to ensure contractors take necessary steps for quality control.

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The CM’s request at the meeting to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to provide road connections to different highways merging in the city will also help in this standardising of road widths. This will also lift the burden of heavy vehicles in the city areas and provide a bypass option for vehicles travelling further. Defining the boundary of the city: Bengaluru is expanding rapidly with new areas constantly being added, putting a great strain on the city’s resources. Setting an outer perimeter for Bengaluru’s growth is a must to decongest the city. The local planning authorities such as BMRDA, BIAAPA and BDA should fix this boundary while preparing the Master Plan for Bengaluru as urban transport solutions, many times, are linked to urban planning. All in all, our approach must be to encourage public transport and discourage private transport.

Bengaluru is top priority for PM Narendra Modi and Bommai governments. With the completion of STRR, suburban rail, all phases of the metro and better coordination and planning between all transport parastatals thanks to BMLTA, the city’s traffic issues will hopefully be addressed effectively. Getting all of these ideas executed swiftly will help Bengaluru maintain its unique strength- as the only city in the world for the best masala dosa and machine learning.

(The author is a Member of Parliament, representing Bangalore South in the Lok Sabha)