The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : B-TRAC 2010 to reduce traffic congestion by 30 per cent

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 27, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

B-TRAC 2010 to reduce traffic congestion by 30 per cent

Special Correspondent

`More than 30 junctions have exceeded their traffic capacity'

CONGESTED, NOW: This may not be the situation in Bangalore when the proposed plan becomes operational. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

Bangalore: The Bangalore Traffic Improvement Project (B-TRAC 2010) commissioned by the Government aims at reducing traffic congestion in the central areas of the city by 30 per cent by 2010. Correspondingly, road accidents may also come down by 30 per cent if the plans become operative.

The approach paper prepared by Wilbur Smith Associates, consultants, points to the fact that more than 30 junctions, including Ananda Rao Circle and Airport Road-Indiranagar intersection, have exceeded their traffic capacity.

The consultants have recommended that there should be restrictions on the use of private and commercial vehicles during peak hours in the central business district which today has grown far beyond Mahatma Gandhi Road.

During peak hours in the morning and afternoon, people may have to use only public transportation in designated areas of the central business district.

If that happens, environmental implications in terms of noise, air pollution, energy consumption and land use, will be significant.

The paper cites the example of Mexico City which prohibits the use of cars in its central business district on certain days, based on their registration plates.

Cars with number plates ending with 1 or 5 cannot use the roads in central business district every Monday, for example. These rules apply from Monday to Friday. Other cities use a scheme by which 40 per cent of private vehicles cannot ply between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on most days, in accordance with their number plates. In Europe, Copenhagen and Frankfurt have a network of streets exclusively for use by pedestrians.

To reduce congestion, the paper suggests a "congestion charge" policy within the central areas of Bangalore. The operating hours can be from 7 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. between Monday and Friday, excluding public holidays. During these hours, those driving through the restricted areas pay a congestion charge. It can be paid over the Internet or at shops or petrol stations.

Vehicles regularly using the roads in the central areas during the restricted times can get registered on a database. A number of video cameras need to be installed to scan the rear number plates of the vehicles which enter the restricted areas daily. This information will be matched each night with the database. Those who have not paid the congestion charge will be fined.

With the number of vehicles touching 2.5 million and most of them now using the central areas, such restrictions may become unavoidable.

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