TYPICAL MORNING IN THE LIFE OF AN EXECUTIVE IN

BANGALORE

To give a brief about me I am staying in Vars Notting Hill Apartment in Ramamurthy

Nagar and have to travel to Bommasandra Industrial Area by car, a distance of about
30 KMs for work. My office timings are from 9:00am to 5:30pm.

Now, to come to my Routine, get up at 6:00 am, rush through the daily morning
chores. Can’t think of morning walk, exercise or yoga, in case I decide to work. Gulp
your breakfast & rush to to your car.

There are two so called convenient, or should I say painful routes, for travelling to &
from work. The first route:

The ordeal starts as soon as I come out of the back gate of my apartment (don’t ever
think of coming out of the main gate). As soon as you exit the gate and after moving
about 50 Meters on the muddy stretch, you reach the tarred street (so called 2ndA
Main Road); you are shocked to see a water tanker completely blocking the way.
You sound a low & timid horn which has no effect on the tanker driver or his helper.
You are forced to honk, but this alas also bears no fruits. In the meanwhile, a car
from opposite side starts blowing horn at highest decibel. Well, all your plans for the
ensuing day at work go kaput and you get down from your car and try to control your
temper. Slowly and steadily, the tanker driver gets down from top of the tanker, gives
a most angry look at you and starts his vehicle. After a few manipulations, you are
able to scrape through and reach the junction of this so called main road & TC Palya
Road, covering a distance of 100 meters in 20 minutes.

Entering TC Palya Road from 2nd main road is again herculean task. Vehicles of all
types and sizes, will be crawling in either direction, leaving no scope of entry from
side lanes. Well, (sigh!), somehow you struggle through the utterly chaotic traffic,
only to land into worse situation. Ramamurthy Nagar & the signal is the worst
managed traffic joint. You should consider yourself lucky, if you are able to reach the
Outer ring road, a distance of about 50 meters in 10minutes. All said and done, it will
take you on an average of about 20-25 minutes, covering a distance of about 200
meters, at a breath taking speed of… 0.6 KM/ hr!!! You will be at your wits end by
now.

On reaching the ring road, you will heave a euphoric sigh relief, in case you take the
service road & then follow it up to NGEF junction. But alas, your relief will not be long
lived. To join the outer Ring Road again, you will have to traverse 1 Km in the
opposite direction & then, wait incessantly to take a U turn. Now, the traffic will be
moving a bit, till you reach Kormangala Sony junction, a distance of about 6 KMs. At
this junction, there will be a big jam and it will take you an average of 10 minutes
crossing it, the signal turning green & red at least 2 to 3 times. There are 3 signals
between Sony Junction, and they are so well co-ordinated that by the time you reach
the next signal, it has got to be Red only. Added to these signals, there are many
lanes joining the main road, adding to the already existing mess. Vehicles turning
right will go the extreme left and then take an abrupt right turn and vice versa.

The situation is worst between the Hosur Road junction, and the elevated highway
with the most unruly traffic. On the elevated highway you start relaxing and rev up
the engine to reach a speed up to 80KM/hr and try to forget the past bad experience;
but alas, to your misfortune, there is a breakdown of some vehicle, and you are
forced to crawl for the next 10 minutes.

There is again a big mess at the toll gate, with vehicles converging from all directions
and practically no difference between the pre-paid and other customers. Anyway,
you somehow cross the toll gate and land into another messy signal, with heavy
vehicles, buses, cars, bikes, etc vying with each other to cross the sognal, frayed
tempers & huge honkings.
Then you again land into another chaotic way below the Bommasandra
Flyover…and then travel the last leg of your ordeal. You will consider your self lucky
if you are able to make in one hour forty five minutes!!!!

It’s been so boring reading through all this, so it can well be imagined, how
frustrating it must be experiencing it day in and day out; with the return journey being
much more excruciating. Well, well, well… this is prevailing not only in Bangalore,
not only in India but through out…..

TRAFFIC CONGESTION IS A GLOBAL PHENOMENON

Mobility is crucial to functionality of cities as it affects their socio-economic activities.

It is also a fact that the economic development of a nation is closely linked to its
transport system. Hindrance to effective mobility is road traffic congestion, which the
World Bank (1999) stated that it constitutes about 54.5% of all noticeable urban
transport externalities. This is as a result of the ever increasing urbanization, human
activities and the resultant heavy dependence on road transportation that warrants
increase in the number of vehicles, of different categories, on the road. Of interest
also is the difficulty of movements on inter-city roads and other major corridors due
largely to obstructions such as traffic crashes, broken down vehicles or certain land
use activities located along these corridors or sheer traffic volume exceeding the
road network capacity during festive seasons and some other major activities. The
demand for transport especially in cities of developing countries has been on the
increase following the rapid socio-economic growth and development of these
countries. For instance, the rate of motor vehicle ownership and use is growing
faster than population in many places, with the vehicle ownership growth rates rising
to 15 to 20 percent per year. (Odeleye 2008). Traffic management has been quite
poor in many developing countries, despite the growth in transport demand and
supply. The resultant traffic congestion has become impediment to our livability.

Road traffic congestion, according to Goodwin (1997) can be defined as the

impedance vehicles impose on each other, due to the speed-flow relationship, in
conditions where the use of a transport system approaches its capacity. Banjo
(1984), also defined congestion as the saturation of road network capacity due to
regular and irregular reductions in service quality exemplified by increased travel
times, variation in travel times and interrupted travel. Olagunju (2011) simply
described road traffic congestion as a disproportion between the inflow and the
outflow of vehicles into and out of a particular space. This is also in line with
Ogunsanya (2002) conceptualization of road traffic congestion as a situation when
urban road network could no longer accommodate the volume of traffic on it.

Traffic Congestion in Delhi

Well, one of the most common and irritating problems that one faces in the national
Capital of India is getting caught in traffic jams. The daily commuting on the roads of
Delhi is becoming longer and more gruelling day by day, depicting the failure of
public transportation infrastructure to keep pace with the growing developing
activities in the Capital. Sad, but true, one of the fastest growing and developed
cities of the world, Delhi, is also renowned for all the wrong reasons. According to a
report made by IBM’s global Commuter Pain study in 2013, New Delhi is among the
top 10 cities in the world having the worst traffic jams. Really, the worsening traffic
congestion on Delhi roads presents a depressing profile of the Capital city.

Some of the major causes of traffic congestion in Delhi

• Substantial increase in the number of vehicles on Delhi roads in recent years.

In fact, studies have shown more than a lakh vehicles are plying almost every day on
most of the important corridors in Delhi.

• The road length in Delhi has increased at the rate of 4.53% per year, which, of
course, is not in pace with the growing population. It is reported that the road density
in Delhi is around 155 km per 100,000 population and about 80 vehicles per km.

• At the intersections, the cycle time ranges from 120 to 180 seconds, which
leads to long queues, especially in the peak hours.

• Another major cause is that Delhi roads are characterised by mixed traffic,
which include, personal vehicles, buses, trucks, three-wheelers, two-wheelers,
including animal-driven carts and pedestrians. This creates problems for traffic
management and leads to delays in movement of the traffic.

• Increase in the growth of the population in Delhi, which includes the growing
number of workforce, is another important cause.

• There has been inadequate public transport system in Delhi. In spite of metro
and bus services, the transport system is not being able to keep pace with the
growing population, as a result of which, more and more people use their private
vehicles, leading to increased congestion on the roads.

• Last, but not the least, ongoing construction of Metro network in various
locations, damaged roads, repairing roads all contribute to severe traffic congestion
in the city.
 Traffic Congestion in Bangalore

A way out of the chaos

Tini Sara Anien, Bengaluru, Jan 12, 2016, DHNS:

On the road

Expatriates point out that traffic issues in the City can be solved by frequently using
public transport. Traffic is chaotic in Bengaluru and driving into the City areas or
even planning to reach somewhere is a big task. With the odd-even traffic initiative
being tried out in Delhi and talks about the same on in Bengaluru, expatriates in the
City share their traffic qualms and suggest what can be perfected here for a
smoother ride back home.

Expatriates like Ema Trinidad, founder of ExpatLife India, who hails from Philippines,
says that traffic is hectic in her home country too. “In Bengaluru, many including
expatriates who are residing in Whitefield, avoid coming to the Central Business
District during the weekdays as it’s very stressful. The very thought of all the honking
and clutter keeps them away from these areas. Expatriates are even advised to not
reside in Whitefield nowadays,” she says.
Ema adds that the odd-even traffic initiative would be a good step for Bengaluru, but
people with two cars or more would not be affected. She adds, “Of the issues that
Bengaluru faces, one of the most irritating ones is that many roads are narrow and
there are vehicles parked on either sides of the roads. Strict rules and
implementation of those will help.” She suggests that just like in Philippines, tow-
away vehicles should be hired privately by the government to keep a check on this.
“Also IT parks and other such organisations should be encouraged to do carpooling,
which would help keep many vehicles off the road.”

The lack of lane discipline creates a lot of commotion, voices Candice Lock, a
Malaysian who has also resided in the US. “A common sight here is that three to four
lanes of traffic often leads to the same road, which creates bottlenecks.”

Candice adds that the law needs to be more stringent here. “In Malaysia and in the
US, huge fines are slapped on perpetrators which creates fear.” She points out that
“it has to be teamwork — be it the lawmakers or the citizens”. Better and planned
infrastructure will also help, she says.

“Better pavements are the need of the hour. Every time a road is widened, the
pavement disappears or it is either broken and there are pedestrians on the road.
Also, they prefer crossing right in the middle of the road, which is scary and chaotic.”

There are other expatriates who feel that traffic is organised in Bengaluru, but it is
lack of proper planning of roads that adds to traffic woes. Emilien Coquard from
France, who is the CEO and co-founder of The Scalers, says, “Traffic can be very
hectic at times, especially around particular areas like Silk Board, Ejipura,
Koramangala and the first main junction of Indiranagar. What I have observed in
these places is that there are roads leading the traffic to many other roads and this
leads to a lot of confusion.”

He says that proper roundabouts around such junctions would help deviate the traffic
in an organised manner. Emilien agrees that different carpooling options from cab
providers like Ola and Uber are also a positive initiative in the whole run. “Especially
when there are so many people travelling to the same areas like Bellandur or
Whitefield, what is the logic of travelling in different cars? Carpooling helps decrease
the number of cars as well as leads to a drop in pollutants in the air,” he says.
Emilien adds that ‘visual hints’ also help better traffic. “Compared to France, there
are not many signs on the roads about diversions, U-turns, lanes etc. There have to
be proper signs, so that one can drive smoothly and not bother others too.”

An effective public transport system would help the City’s vehicular movement, says
Nicolas Mirguet, co-founder of ‘Le Casse-Croûte’, who hails from France. He says
that the delayed Metro work should speed up, which would provide more travel
options.

“There are only limited Metro lines functioning in the City, which doesn’t help much.
Once there is a stable public transport system, cars on the roads will decrease.” He
says that he’s been here since three years and feels that even road conditions
contribute to slower traffic movement. “The roads are always temporarily fixed and
open up after a few rain showers,” he adds.

Corporate honchos want govt to act on poor infra

Rajashekara S, Bengaluru, Jan 12, 2016, DHNS:

IT firms are having second thoughts about their expansion plans given the traffic
jams on Outer Ring Road. DH FILE PHOTO

“Hey, you all talk about Bengaluru as silicon valley with necessary infrastructure. If
that will have to go with such a status how do you guys deal with these massive
infrastructure problems?’’
“Instead of navigating traffic (from Leela Palace to a company on ORR) and
spending so much time on road, I might go to an office in Hawaii from California,”
covering a distance of 4,000 km by flight.”

These were some of the telling comments from top US executives of major tech
companies on the ORR and Whitefield when their Indian counterparts submitted
expansion plans for their respective firms in the City.

Top executives nowadays are discussing more about challenges to get expansion
approval and productivity concerns than focussing on their core work.

“Earlier, top executives were focussed on their work and hardly communicated with
each other. In the last few months, the centre of discussion is around this, says
Vinod Chandra, General Manager and Vice president, Brocade India.

“Why do we put in more staff in Bengaluru. Why can’t we move to other cities or
another country. Those are typical normal conversation nowadays,’’ says Sarv
Sarvanan, Managing Director EMC Corporation India. “This is being talked about
more. Decision may not happen now.

But if things doesn’t move fast, let’s say in six months; otherwise, Bengaluru’s brand
built over the years will slide. Bengaluru brand is under challenge now. Five years of
inaction is enough to mess up the brand,’’ he said.

Another top executive who didn’t wish to be named said: “Bengaluru is seen as a
silicon valley of India. People abroad think it is a great place. They come here and
see this. Many are puzzled why there is no road and ask: how you deal with it. It
doesn’t go with the silicon valley status.”

“We can salvage if the government hasten to execute projects. The good thing is that
the government is engaging with the corporate,’’ Sarvanan said expressing the need
for a proper world class ring road that goes with the status of silicon valley. Even tire-
II cities in China have great infrastructure in place, points.
However, there has been no visible progress on the ground though the government
has been listening to the IT companies. “They have plans. We have had a couple of
rounds of good discussion. But it is time to execute. Right now it is on paper. We
don’t know what their challenges are. Making visible progress is more important to
us to go back (executives abroad) and showcase that the government is acting,’’
Sarvanan said.

Ram Narayanan, General Manager of eBay Product Development Center, India, was
critical of the government and said that flyovers designed to decongest roads have
not been built for some purpose or the other and service roads were highly
inadequate.

“We cannot wait for 20 years for Metro to come. Government is taking short-term
measures. eBay is not looking to move out of Bengaluru; but it certainly is a
question of future growth when senior executives visit here and ask do you really
want to invest in here,” Naryanan pointed explaining a possible situation he might
face if there is no improvement on the ground.
Outcomes

• No doubt, traffic congestion is resulting into unnecessary delays and reduction

in speed.

• It has resulted into a non-productive activity for most people as when they get
stuck in traffic jams, they reach their workplace late or reach back home late.

• It has resulted into high rate of road traffic fatalities, making travelling and
driving very unsafe in Delhi.

• Traffic congestion has also led to an increase in the number of accidents on

the roads. In fact, Delhi has the highest accident rate in India and third-highest in the
world.

• Here, the irony is that everyone is in a hurry but nobody reaches on time.

• Traffic rules, red lights, lane driving are not followed which are both the
causes and effects of traffic congestion in Delhi.

• Inability to forecast travel time accurately.

• Fuel wastage.

• Increasing air and noise pollution.

• Wear and tear on vehicles.

• Increased road rage.

• Blocked traffic also interferes with the passage of emergency vehicles etc.

Analysis – Causes of Traffic Congestion

Road traffic congestion remains a global phenomenon that bedevils the cities of the
world; especially developing countries, resulting in massive delay, unpredicted travel
times, increased fuel consumption, man-hour and monetary loss. The phenomenon
has arisen from poorly planned road network and traffic/management, resulting in
elongated and unbearable traffic jams.
A few causes of traffic Congestion

 Inefficient Road Network

 Violations of Traffic Rules & Regulations
 Inadequacy of traffic police
 Narrow roads
 Illegal Parking
 Increasing number of population
 Higher Purchasing power of the public
 No Lane management
 Bad construction & poor management of roads
 Badly engineered roads & road junctions
 No road sense
 Inefficient Public Transport
 Absence of Infrastructural Requirements – Flyovers
 Too many streets joining the main roads
 VIP Movement Cultures
 Flooding in rainy season due to badly designed/ maintained storm water
drains
 Level crossings between Railway lines & Roads

Traffic congestion on Marginal Pinheiros, near downtown São Paulo. According

to Time magazine, São Paulo has the world's worst traffic jams. Drivers are informed
through variable message signs the prevailing queue length.
Traffic congestion occurs when a volume of traffic or modal split generates demand
for space greater than the available road capacity; this point is commonly
termed saturation. There are a number of specific circumstances which cause or
aggravate congestion; most of them reduce the capacity of a road at a given point or
over a certain length, or increase the number of vehicles required for a given volume
of people or goods. About half of U.S. traffic congestion is recurring, and is attributed
to sheer weight of traffic; most of the rest is attributed to traffic incidents, road work
and weather events.
Traffic research still cannot fully predict under which conditions a "traffic jam" (as
opposed to heavy, but smoothly flowing traffic) may suddenly occur. It has been
found that individual incidents (such as accidents or even a single car braking
heavily in a previously smooth flow) may cause ripple effects (a cascading failure)
which then spread out and create a sustained traffic jam when, otherwise, normal
flow might have continued for some time longer.

Mathematical theories

Congestion on a street in Taipei consisting primarily of motorcycles.

Some traffic engineers have attempted to apply the rules of fluid dynamics to traffic
flow, likening it to the flow of a fluid in a pipe. Congestion simulations and real-time
observations have shown that in heavy but free flowing traffic, jams can arise
spontaneously, triggered by minor events ("butterfly effects"), such as an abrupt
steering maneuver by a single motorist. Traffic scientists liken such a situation to the
sudden freezing of super-cooled fluid.
However, unlike a fluid, traffic flow is often affected by signals or other events at
junctions that periodically affect the smooth flow of traffic. Alternative mathematical
theories exist, such as Boris Kerner's three-phase traffic theory (see also
spatiotemporal reconstruction of traffic congestion).

Because of the poor correlation of theoretical models to actual observed traffic flows,
transportation planners and highway engineers attempt to forecast traffic flow using
empirical models. Their working traffic models typically use a combination of macro-,
micro- and mesoscopic features, and may add matrix entropy effects, by "platooning"
groups of vehicles and by randomising the flow patterns within individual segments
of the network. These models are then typically calibrated by measuring actual traffic
flows on the links in the network, and the baseline flows are adjusted accordingly.

A team of MIT mathematicians has developed a model that describes the formation
of "phantom jams," in which small disturbances (a driver hitting the brake too hard, or
getting too close to another car) in heavy traffic can become amplified into a full-
blown, self-sustaining traffic jam. Key to the study is the realization that the
mathematics of such jams, which the researchers call "jamitons," are strikingly
similar to the equations that describe detonation waves produced by explosions,
says Aslan Kasimov, lecturer in MIT's Department of Mathematics. That discovery
enabled the team to solve traffic-jam equations that were first theorized in the 1950s

Economic theories

India's economic surge has resulted in a massive increase in the number of private
vehicles on its roads overwhelming the transport infrastructure. Shown here is a
traffic jam in Delhi.

As in India, China's economic surge has resulted in a massive increase in the

number of private vehicles on its roads overwhelming the transport infrastructure.
Shown here is a traffic jam during rush hour at 17:30 in downtown Haikou
City,Hainan Province.
Congested roads can be seen as an example of the tragedy of the commons.
Because roads in most places are free at the point of usage, there is little financial
incentive for drivers not to over-use them, up to the point where traffic collapses into
a jam, when demand becomes limited by opportunity cost. Privatization of
highways and road pricing have both been proposed as measures that may reduce
congestion through economic incentives and disincentives. Congestion can also
happen due to non-recurring highway incidents, such as a crash or roadworks, which
may reduce the road's capacity below normal levels.

Economist Anthony Downs argues that rush hour traffic congestion is inevitable
because of the benefits of having a relatively standard work day. In
a capitalist economy, goods can be allocated either by pricing (ability to pay) or by
queueing (first-come first-served); congestion is an example of the latter. Instead of
the traditional solution of making the "pipe" large enough to accommodate the total
demand for peak-hour vehicle travel (a supply-side solution), either by widening
roadways or increasing "flow pressure" via automated highway systems, Downs
advocates greater use of road pricing to reduce congestion (a demand-side solution,
effectively rationing demand), in turn plowing the revenues generated therefrom
into public transportation projects.

A 2011 study in the The American Economic Review indicates that there may be a
"fundamental law of road congestion”. The researchers, from the University of
Toronto and the London School of Economics, analyzed data from the U.S. Highway
Performance and Monitoring System for 1983, 1993 and 2003, as well as information
on population, employment, geography, transit, and political factors. They
determined that the number of vehicle-kilometers traveled (VKT) increases in direct
proportion to the available lane-kilometers of roadways. The implication is that
building new roads and widening existing ones only results in additional traffic that
continues to rise until peak congestion returns to the previous level.

Classification

Qualitative classification of traffic is often done in the form of a six letter A-F level of
service (LOS) scale defined in the Highway Capacity Manual, a US document used
(or used as a basis for national guidelines) worldwide. These levels are used
by transportation engineers as a shorthand and to describe traffic levels to the lay
public. While this system generally uses delay as the basis for its measurements, the
particular measurements and statistical methods vary depending on the facility being
described. For instance, while the percent time spent following a slower-moving
vehicle figures into the LOS for a rural two-lane road, the LOS at an urban
intersection incorporates such measurements as the number of drivers forced to wait
through more than one signal cycle.

Traffic congestion occurs in time and space, i.e., it is a spatiotemporal process.

Therefore, another classification scheme of traffic congestion is associated with
some common spatiotemporal features of traffic congestion found in measured traffic
data. Common spatiotemporal empirical features of traffic congestion are those
features, which are qualitatively the same for different highways in different countries
measured during years of traffic observations. Common features of traffic congestion
are dependent on weather, road conditions and road infrastructure, vehicular
technology, driver characteristics, day time, etc. Examples of common features of
traffic congestion are the features [J] and [S] for, respectively, the wide moving
jam and synchronized flow traffic phases found in Kerner’s three-phase traffic theory.
The common features of traffic congestion can be reconstructed in space and time
with the use of the ASDA and FOTO models.

Negative impacts

Traffic congestion has a number of negative effects:

 Wasting time of motorists and passengers ("opportunity cost"). As a non-

productive activity for most people, congestion reduces regional economic
health.
 Delays, which may result in late arrival for employment, meetings, and education,
resulting in lost business, disciplinary action or other personal losses.
 Inability to forecast travel time accurately, leading to drivers allocating more time
to travel "just in case", and less time on productive activities.
 Wasted fuel increasing air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions owing to
increased idling, acceleration and braking.
A frustrated driver in traffic jam.

 Wear and tear on vehicles as a result of idling in traffic and frequent acceleration
and braking, leading to more frequent repairs and replacements.
 Stressed and frustrated motorists, encouraging road rage and reduced health of
motorists
 Emergencies: blocked traffic may interfere with the passage of emergency
vehicles traveling to their destinations where they are urgently needed.
 Spillover effect from congested main arteries to secondary roads and side streets
as alternative routes are attempted ('rat running'), which may affect
neighborhood amenityand real estate prices.
 Higher chance of collisions due to tight spacing and constant stopping-and-going.

Road rage
Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior by a driver of an automobile or other
motor vehicle. Such behavior might include rude gestures, verbal insults, deliberately
driving in an unsafe or threatening manner, or making threats. Road rage can lead to
altercations, assaults, and collisions which result in injuries and even deaths. It can
be thought of as an extreme case of aggressive driving.
The term originated in the United States in 1987–1988 (specifically, from
Newscasters at KTLA, a local television station), when a rash of freeway shootings
occurred on the 405, 110 and 10 freeways in Los Angeles, California. These
shooting sprees even spawned a response from the AAA Motor Club to its members
on how to respond to drivers with road rage or aggressive maneuvers and gestures.
Role of Government in controlling traffic in Delhi

To improve the quality of public transport, some measures taken by the Government
are:

• Completion of second phase of Delhi Metro has provided a convenient public

transport system to the commuters of Delhi and the adjoining NCR cities of Gurgaon,
Noida and Ghaziabad.

• More than 3,500 low floor air-conditioned and non-airconditioned buses,

including corporate sector buses, have been introduced by the Delhi Transport
Corporation (DTC).

• Withdrawal of blue-line buses.

• Construction of new roads, foot bridges, flyovers and widening of existing

road network

• A Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation has been set up to

manage Inter- State Bus Terminals in Delhi.

• Ring Road bypass and elevated corridors in some areas of Delhi like
Barrapula drain have been provided with signal-free flow of traffic.

Intelligent Transport System (ITS) and Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System
Ltd. (DIMTS)

The main objective of DIMTS is to provide safe, accessible, reliable, sustainable and
user-friendly public transport for commuters and set up a mechanism to deliver
public transport service that keeps pace with growth. The problem of traffic on the
roads of Delhi can be solved with the implementation of Intelligent Transport System
(ITS) in a proper manner, as adopted by DIMTS. ITS in Delhi, for that matter, the
whole of India, can bring about a sustainable and balanced transportation solution. It
is basically the use of computer and communications technologies in the resolution
of transport problems. It can help in timely gathering of data or intelligence and then
providing feedback to traffic managers and road-users. Implementation of ITS can
lead to reduced traffic congestion, better traffic efficiency, better safety to drivers,
improved energy efficiency and increased economic productivity. Some examples of
ITS include:

• Advanced Traffic Management Systems

• Advanced Vehicle Control Systems

• Advanced Traveller Information Systems

• Electronic Toll Collection Systems

• Advanced Public Transportation Systems

• Wireless Traffic Signal Controller

• Red Light-Stop Line Violation & Detection System

• CCTV Junction Surveillance

• Variable Message Sign

• Video Incident Detection etc.

This has already been adopted in other countries for effective management of traffic.
In Delhi, it has started only recently. Proper implementation of ITS will definitely
improve the scenario.

What other measures can be taken?

Some immediate steps that need to be taken by the Government to allow traffic to
move somewhat safely in Delhi are as follow:

• Designing a well-maintained and well-developed public transport system.

• Designing separate roads or lanes to control speeds and vehicles of different

sizes, weights and velocities.

• Promoting traffic safety and traffic rules through education, advertising and
strict enforcement.

• Improvements in vehicle design.

• Strict enforcement of travel demand management and policies to be adopted

to reduce the use of private vehicles.

• Ensuring safety and convenience to commuters of public transport and

pedestrians.

• Introduction of cost-effective, environment-friendly and efficient new modes of

public transport for congested lanes, streets and feeder system for major public
transport.

• Last but not the least, encouraging walking and bicycling.

The effectiveness of such measures depends to a great extent on us, the public, the
road users, the police and, of course, proper enforcement of the laws
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 Tini Sara Anien, Bengaluru, Jan 12, 2016, DHNS
 Rajashekara S, Bengaluru, Jan 12, 2016, DHNS