Bengaluru: As IT companies have started recalling employees and withdrawing work from home orders, there is daily traffic congestion on the Outer Ring Road. Bangalore Traffic Police and concerned stakeholders are thinking about what measures to explore to reduce this traffic.
The Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA-Outer Ring Road Companies Association) has employed 60 to 70 traffic marshals from Silk Board to K. R. Puram to manage traffic along with Bengaluru Traffic Police for the last 15 years.
ORRCA advises company employees traveling on the Ring Road to use public transport whenever possible and to manage login and logout times for employees to prevent peak morning and evening congestion.
Speaking about this, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M. N. Anuchet said, “According to our estimates, the movement of cars between the Silk Board and Marathahalli has increased by at least 50%, so there will definitely be an increase in traffic during peak hours.” To deal with this congestion, they have opened some U-turns below the flyovers where the preliminary metro work has been completed. He said that the traffic police will also change some U-turns in Devarabisanahalli.
They are in the process of speeding up the asphalting process on the road sections where the metro work has been completed to remove the barricades and free up the traffic lane and allow for better movement. Along with these infrastructural changes, the traffic police intend to push for greater adoption of public transport.
Along with stakeholders like ORRCA and BMTC, they are exploring the possibilities of reintroducing carpooling options for employees and introducing shuttle services between fixed points along ORR, Anuchet informed. We surveyed the BMTC bus stands along the Outer Ring Road, which could be shifted to service roads without inconveniencing passengers. He said that it will be implemented with the help of BMTC.