[ad_1]
Do you want to know why Bengaluru gets choked with traffic all the time? While funny memes about the city’s traffic problems might make you smile, the real reason might make you stumbling. The answer is simple, but the solution is complex.
Traffic jams are a major problem in most cities around the world. The basic reason behind this is that the ratio of the number of vehicles on the road to the population is 1:1. Take for example the famous Outer Ring Road (ORR) in Bengaluru, which is a high-density traffic strip that experiences the worst traffic jams.
With IT companies slowly requiring employees to return to offices by lifting the work-from-home policy, it has put more traffic on the roads. If you go by the stats, there are nearly 68,000 businesses in Bengaluru and one of the high-traffic stretches is the one that stretches from Silk Board to Marathahalli to KR Puram. This 60km ring road has, in the past few weeks, seen a nearly 50 per cent increase in vehicle traffic as people return to offices for work.
News 18 Be aware of the approximately 65,000 employees who travel to work at companies located in ORR, and there are at least 3,38,800 vehicles on the roads every day. This is almost half the number of employees who take their cars to work, excluding vehicles that transport schoolchildren and university students and vehicles for other work.
That number is expected to increase by another 75,000 by August, traffic department officials said as companies prepare to open their offices full time. News 18 Join Bengaluru Joint Commissioner, Traffic, MN Anuchet on a journey through the city to understand how to manage these congested roads and find solutions, particularly with the use of artificial intelligence, driving cameras and software.
Why this stalemate, what measures have been taken?
Anushit said that Bengaluru was a cosmopolitan city and hence, the number of vehicles being added daily ranged from 1,000 to 2,000 vehicles per day. “We have a vehicle count of around Rs 1.1 crore as of today and the population of Bengaluru is estimated to be around Rs 1.6 crore, so the car to driver ratio is 1:1.5, which is very high. We ideally aim to see fewer vehicles on the roads.” , which means increased use of public transportation.There are short, medium and long term solutions.In the long term, the use of metro, suburban trains, K-Ride and buses.
Various stakeholder departments work together to achieve this goal and to promote mobility. Despite these efforts, Bengaluru witnessed crises in many areas prompting the authorities to take decisive action.
One such measure includes banning heavy vehicles from entering the city during the morning rush hours. In addition, areas affected by metro construction are cordoned off or fortified to minimize disruptions to traffic flow.
It should be noted that ORR, which houses many IT parks, suffers from heavy congestion, especially on days when employees commute to work. The return of IT staff to physical workplaces has also contributed to increased bottlenecks in certain areas, particularly in IT corporate groups. The stretch between Marathahalli and Silk Board has seen a significant rise in vehicular traffic as a result.
“We have seen a huge increase in vehicular traffic between Marathahalli and Silk Board, in both directions. We have also been told that the WFH rules have been relaxed so the roads are now congested with 60 to 70% of staff going to offices. We have also taken some measures. We are collaborating with the Association of Outer Ring Road Companies to monitor and engage volunteers to help us manage traffic better.”I would say traffic on the roads has increased by 70% and travel times have increased,” Anushit said.
The progress of Nama metro routes is hampered by the shortage of migrant workers. The newly formed Congress government also came up with a proposal to address the pressing traffic problem in the city by proposing to build underground tunnels.
Traffic Department collects Rs 123 crore in fines
Did you know that the Bengaluru Traffic Department collected Rs 123 crore in fines earlier this year? In an effort to enforce traffic rules and reduce violations, authorities have conducted three trips to get people to pay their fines by offering a 50 percent discount. After the success of the first drive, a second drive was made collecting another ₹13.27 crore. The third and final drive is in effect through September 9th. Within a week, the department filed 48,259 cases and collected a penalty amount of Rs 1.53 crore.
The maximum traffic offenses concern riders not wearing helmets and two-wheeled tricycles. Officials said most of the traffic jams are also caused by traffic violations. The initiative of the state government to implement ITMS (Intelligent Traffic Management System) to enforce traffic rules has further facilitated the process.
Traffic personnel have been deployed on the ground wherever the application of contactless technology is possible. “We are seeing fines of up to Rs 25,000 to 30,000 per day. In our bid to do away with contactlessness, our ITMS can effectively book violators. Where we cannot enforce contactless enforcement, we have our staff on the ground,” said the Joint Traffic Commissioner. “.
How is artificial intelligence being used to manage traffic jams, and monitor violations
Bengaluru is the only city that has successfully used AI to manage traffic in the country, with a central point called the Traffic Management Center (TMC) using an Information Management System (ITMS) to identify traffic and effectively coordinate traffic across the city.
With the help of ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras, not only the city is monitored with an eagle eye, but every traffic violation is also captured with the help of special Red Light Violation Detection (RLVD) cameras.
So, the next time someone driving tries to run a red light, they might have to think twice. According to Dr. Anil Purohit, Inspector, TMC, not only will the violation be captured by the camera, but it is also equipped to detect eight violations – seatbelt, speeding, three-way riding, one-way riding, mobile phone use, signal hopping, stopping when crossing lines Stop and don the helmet. If you have broken more than one rule, make sure you punish them separately and challan will be at your doorstep.
“There was technology leakage in traffic management, but implementation was one of the biggest challenges for traffic police today. If we focus on regulating traffic, then enforcement will be affected and vice versa. So, with the help of technology, such as ANPR and RLVD cameras, it helped us monitor better,” Purohit said.
[ad_2]
