BENGALURU: As per statistics presented in the Transport Department's annual report, one can attribute the city's increasing traffic congestion to a surge in the number of two-wheelers. The 2017-2018 report released by the state recently, shows that there has been an 8.52 per cent increase in the total number of two wheelers here.
In the last three years, the total number of two-wheelers, including new and old registrations, has gone from 42 lakh to 47 lakh, to 51 lakh. In the last one year, 4.02 lakh new two-wheelers were registered by regional transport offices.
As per the department, 69 per cent of the vehicle population in Bengaluru is two-wheelers. Cars and autos comprise 19 and three per cent of the vehicle population, respectively. Other forms of transportation vehicles amount to nine per cent. Commenting on these numbers, a transport expert from advocacy group Praja RAAG, and the city's bicycle mayor Sathya Sankaran, said, “This increase in two-wheelers is bound to happen. Younger people, especially those who have moved to the city to work in IT companies, prefer them as they are cheaper than public transport. Banning them is not the solution. The government needs to make it costlier to buy and maintain two-wheelers, while also making public transport cheaper.”
Giving the example of Mexico City, where for a fixed amount of five pesos (the local currency), one can travel any distance on the Metro, irrespective of the number of stops or lines to be changed. In other foreign countries, a changeover made from, say, a suburban train to a bus, gets the commuter a discount on their common mobility card.
“At the same time, we need congestion fees and parking fees. The cess collected must be used to invest in public transport, walking and cycling. As for pollution checks, the transport department is more concerned with cars, and is lax when it comes to two-wheelers,which pollute the environment too,” he added.
The population of cars in Bengaluru, though less dense than two-wheelers, has also gone up at a similar rate of 8.3 per cent in the last one year. The car population in the city, as of now, stands at 14 lakh, with 1.10 lakh registered in the last one year.