BENGALURU: The Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) identified uniform office timings on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) as a major cause of vehicular congestion and pitched carpooling as a solution to mitigate gridlocks on the stretch. But representatives of companies on the ORR contended that behavioural changes alone would not suffice without major improvements in public transport and last-mile connectivity.
Speaking to TNIE, Manas Das, President, Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA), said, “ORRCA welcomes the BTP’s efforts. However, behavioural changes such as reducing private vehicle use cannot happen without major infrastructure improvements. People work across different time zones, customers and work models.”
He added that inadequate public transport, poor road conditions and weak last-mile connectivity would make these sudden shifts in the behaviour of tech park employees unrealistic.
“Smaller BMTC buses that can enter tech parks, round-the-clock bus services, safer bus stops with shelters, pothole-free roads and stronger last-mile infrastructure are critical pieces of this puzzle and need to be addressed urgently before there can be a noticeable impact and shift in employee behaviour,” he said.
Krishna Kumar, an industry representative, felt that carpooling, already being practised by some people, has to be promoted company-wise. “Companies must introduce some kind of incentive model for employees to adopt it on a larger scale. We have been asking for staggered office timings from day one, but many major companies on the Outer Ring Road are still not following it.
That is where the problem lies,” he said. “If Metro construction work is over, bringing back bus priority lanes is a good decision.” He added that if some employees continue to work from home, congestion levels will definitely come down, but companies need time to adapt and such changes cannot be implemented overnight.
Even after three years, guidelines for carpooling still in limbo
The state transport department in October 2023 announced that it will come up with a framework for the operation of carpooling services in Karnataka. However, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy pointed out that framing the guidelines was the duty of the central government.
Speaking to TNIE, he said, “We have not stopped carpooling at any point. People are already doing it and we have not disturbed them. But framing guidelines for carpooling is a matter for the Central government. Once the Centre issues nationwide guidelines, we will adopt them in Karnataka,” the minister said.
“This cannot be done by one state alone. Issues relating to use of white-board vehicles, tracking systems, high-security number plates and other regulations come under Central government guidelines. I suggest the Centre to initiate uniform carpooling guidelines across India since this is a national issue, not just Karnataka’s,” he added.