Bangalore’s traffic policy - dog chasing its own tail

We have two possible routes that we can take to solve Bangalore’s traffic problem.

1. Increase infrastructure to accommodate higher traffic2. Reduce the need for higher infrastructure, by reducing traffic.

Which route do we take ? Let's look at both options.

Option 1 : Increase infrastructureWhen we travel, we would ideally like to do so in a doorstep-to-doorstep mode of transport, that picks us up from our doorstep at point A and deposits us at the doorstep at point B. We would also like to do this with minimal expenditure of physical energy. This can be only achieved by means of a personal automobile, and so whichever of us can afford to do so buys a two-wheelers or car.

As the number of personal automobiles grows, more vehicles are vying for the same amount of road space and the average speed drops. To ensure that the speed does not drop, we need to keep increasing the road space or improve the utilization of the existing road space. Assuming that we have achieved the best utilization possible, the only option is to increase the road surface area by widening roads and building multiple 'storeys' of roads like the elevated road on Hosur Road.

Let's assume that in the short term we manage to resolve the traffic congestion issue by widening roads all over the city, like the BBMP is planning to do now. We still have to deal with these problems:

Automobile exhaust killsAir pollution levels around Trinity Circle register at 232 of the Air Quality Index (AQI) value. Anything above 100 on the AQI is a sign of severe air pollution. Studies estimate that 10 per cent of Bangalore’s 60 lakh population and over 50 per cent of its children below 18 years suffer from air pollution-related ailments.

You're not safe even in a carConcentrations of some toxic chemicals in cars are 5-10 times higher than those found in homes and offices. The main chemicals are Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (or PBDEs, often used as fire retardants) and phthalates (chemicals used to soften plastics). PBDEs cause neuro-developmental damage, thyroid hormone disruption and possibly liver toxicity. Phthalates are linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births, and early puberty.

The wider the roads, the hotter the city

Any urban area is an Urban Heat Island (UHI), an area significantly warmer than its surroundings. This is caused by replacing vegetation by asphalt and concrete for roads, flyovers elevated highways and buildings. You have probably experienced this as a sudden drop in temperature as you drive through Cubbon Park or past the Golf course or Palace grounds in the evening.A 10 % reduction in vegetation can increase temperature by 4 deg. C. The proposed widening of 140 km. of roads in the city will result in cutting down around 30,000 trees, equivalent to 10 Cubbon Parks, and therefore a serious rise in Bangalore's temperature.

Roads are eating into our homes and businesses.

Bangalore's current road network can accommodate 10 Lakh vehicles, but the city has 32 Lakh vehicles.The vehicle population has doubled in the past 5 years. In the next 5 years it will more than double.If we widen roads to accommodate the higher traffic, today we actually need to widen the roads by 3 times, and then double the road width every 5 years.

Think of the road on which your home is. What would happen to your home if the road width were to be doubled every 5 years ? You will not have a home, and in effect would be continuously rebuilding the city for your vehicle's needs instead of for your needs.

The result of the present transport policy is: 32 Lakh vehicle population. 1300 new vehicles added every day. Highest road death statistics in the country. Pollution levels are alarmingly high. The government spending enormous amounts of money on roads. The temperature has risen by 5 degrees in the past decade. The city is being designed to accommodate vehicles, not people.

In sum, this solution will not work:1. Doubling the width of the road every 5 years would mean destroying all our homes and businesses.2. Deaths due to pollution will increase at the same rate as the vehicle population. 3. It is illogical to build a city to suit its automobile population instead of its human population4. Like a dog chasing its own tail, infrastructure will forever be chasing the rising vehicular population,

never catching up with it.

Option 2 : Reduce trafficWhat if we make a small compromise in our travels from point A to point B ? Instead of doorstep-to-doorstep, supposing we are willing to accept ½ km-from-doorstep to ½ km-from-doorstep ? Supposing we walk to the nearest bus stop that is ½ km away, and the bus deposits us ½ km from our destination, from where we again walk ½ km ?

Walking ½ km. would take a normal person about 5 minutes. This means you are adding 10 minutes to your travel time each way. Can we make this compromise if there are compensating factors ? What could the compensating factors be ?

Air pollutionIf you notice, during peak traffic time:Cars and two-wheelers carry just a single passengerBuses carry 60 or more passengers.

Bus Car Bike-4stroke Bike-2stroke

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Pollution load, gm./pas-senger-km.

Pollution from different modes of transport

Under these conditions, the pollution caused by a passenger travelling one km. in a bus is 1/10 of that on a 4-stroke bike and ¼ of that in a car. Two-wheelers form 75 % of the vehicle population and cars form 20 %.If everybody in Bangalore started using buses instead of cars and two-wheelers, pollution would reduce to 1/8 of what it is now.Noise pollution too would be 1/10 of what it is now.

Road space occupiedIn peak time traffic again, the road space occupied by a passenger in a bus is 1/15 of a person on a bike and 1/30 of a person in a car.If everybody in Bangalore started using buses instead of cars and two-wheelers, the road space required would be 1/20 of what it is now.

Proportionate road space occupied by 70 people in a bus and on bikes

Proportionate road space occupied by 70 people in a bus and in cars

Number of vehiclesBMTC now has 5000 buses and carries 50 % of the travelling public every day. 10,000 more buses would be able to carry the whole mass of commuters in various levels of comfort – air-conditioned, ordinary express, ordinary, etc. We already have 1 lakh autos and 10,000 taxis.We can reduce the vehicle population to 4 lakhs, the level that existed in 1980, if most of the people shifted from private transport to public and we have 2 lakh public transport vehicles + 2 lakh private vehicles.

Commute timeWith 4 lakh vehicles on the roads instead of the present 32 lakhs, this is what would happen:Vehicles would travel faster between signals. The time to clear the traffic at each signal would be less, maybe 15 seconds instead of the present 90 to 180.The current average speed of 13 kmph will increase to 25 kmph. This is twice as fast as vehicles travel today.

Cost of commutingFor a commute of 20 km. each day, the cost of EMI, maintenance and fuel is:Rs. 2500 for a 2-wheeler costing Rs. 50,000.Rs. 15000 for a car costing Rs. 4 Lakhs.

The cost of travelling by bus would be:Rs. 500 per month by regular (non-AC) bus.Rs. 1250 per month by AC bus.

In sum, this solution will work:1. Air pollution will reduce by 88 %.2. Road space requirement will reduce by 88 %. 3. Commute time will reduce by 50 %.4. Commuting cost will reduce by 80 %.5. Accidents will be reduced dramatically.6. The money that the government spends on road infrastructure will be available for improving water,

power, education, medicare and housing.

So where is the problem ? Why can't we do this ?

Let's hear it from someone who solved the problem in Bogotá, Colombia, which has the same population as Bangalore, in an area twice the size, and had a similar traffic problem.

When Enrique Peñalosa became mayor of Bogotá in 1998, he asked a question that is changing the way people all over the world think about cities: “In Bogotá, where 85 percent of the people do not use cars for their daily transport, is it fair that cars occupy most of the space on the streets?

The city built 70 miles of bicycle routes and closed several streets to cars and converting them into pedestrian malls. Car use was restricted during rush hour, each car banned from the downtown area 2 days a week, based on the license plate number. The results were dramatic: the average commute time dropped by 21 minutes, and pollution was reduced significantly.The city had been debating a multi-billion dollar train subway system for decades, but Peñalosa decided to build a rapid transit bus system that was far cheaper.

In the words of Peñalosa, who says he succeeded because he focused on improving the lot of people, not their cars. “All over the developing world, resources are used to help the affluent avoid traffic jams rather than mobilizing the entire population,”

People ask him why this is not done everywhere, if it is so simple and inexpensive. “I tell them the only issue is a political one. They don’t want to take space from cars and give it to buses, bicyclists, and pedestrians,”

What we in Bangalore need now is our very own Peñalosa.

G V DasarathiThe author is the Director of a software products development company in Bangalore.As his personal contribution towards saving Bangalore’s environment, he cycles or takes a bus to work from Sadashivanagar to Jayanagar every day, a distance of 15 km. each way.