Mobility issues should not slow down B’luru

The ‘Brand Bengaluru’ survey which was conducted to obtain a feedback from city residents on how to improve the transport system, has no doubt proved to be an eye-opener as far as the travails people face while commuting are concerned.

The suggestions made by citizens include more crosswalks, wider footpaths and dedicated cycle lanes besides better last-mile connectivity and synchronized traffic signals.

There are also suggestions for better roads free from potholes, better parking infrastructure and arrangements for washroom and drinking water facilities on the streets.

While it would be a bit naïve to expect the state government or civic officials to suddenly jump into action and meet all these demands in a jiffy, there is no doubt that the suggestions have been made after much thought and brainstorming.

An efficient transport system helps the working professional save on time and energy and also leads to a consequent increase in productivity, something which everyone would welcome.

What maybe has led to a lackadaisical approach in improving the city’s transport system is the lack of an elected civic body for the past several years after the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike ((BBMP) Council’s term ended in 2020.

In fact Bengaluru must be one of the few major cities in the country ‘surviving’ without an elected civic body for so many years! The number of private vehicles on Bengaluru’s roads is no doubt an issue which needs to be tackled urgently and the survey report has rightly stressed on the need for congestion pricing and high lifetime taxes on vehicles.

This would discourage people from using their private vehicles and instead switch to public transport modes like buses, the metro or the suburban railway whenever it gets operational.

What however needs urgent attention in Bengaluru are the roads with no visible effort made in the past several months to improve them or set right the potholes.

The only reason why we have not witnessed many more pothole-induced mishaps in the city this year is the fact that the monsoon has been pretty deficient.

So the rampant flooding the city witnessed in 2022 when people had to take to boats, rafts and even bullock carts to save themselves from the swirling waters, has not happened this time.

That however does not means that the roads can be left in the state they are for much longer and more so when Bangalore Palace in the heart of the city is set to host a prestigious event like the Tech Summit in a couple of months from now.

Hundreds of technocrats and potential investors are expected to descend on the city during these three days and imagine how red-faced we would be left if they had to undergo the torture of wading through knee-deep water on city roads.

With a powerful politician like Deputy CM DK Shivakumar handling the crucial Bengaluru development portfolio, all that the city needs is a determined effort to keep the roads in good shape with timely interventions whenever rain or other natural calamities wreck them.

Good, spotless and smooth roads, properly functioning traffic signals, an inter-connected transport system where one does not have to wait and wait after alighting from a metro train for last mile connectivity –and of course a quick completion of the many civic and metro project now ongoing in the city which have been extremely disruptive to say the least - these are in no way over-ambitious expectations from city residents.

One hopes the new government, despite the huge pressure of the five ‘guarantee schemes’, will do its best to provide Bengaluru’s transport system a much-needed boost to make it worthy of the city it serves.