Bengaluru Overtakes Delhi As India's Top City In Private Car Ownership

Bengaluru has surpassed Delhi to claim the title of the top Indian city with the highest number of private cars. According to the Karnataka Transport Department, Bengaluru has exceeded Delhi in private car ownership, registering a total of 22.3 lakh private cars as of March 31, 2023. This reflects a notable 7.1 per cent increase from the figures recorded on March 31, 2021.

The surge in the number of vehicles in Bengaluru has also led to a rise in traffic violations. It may also be noted that as per Dutch location technology specialist TomTom, Bengaluru was the second most congested city globally in 2022 after London. In light of such issues, on Saturday, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar announced that artificial intelligence would be employed to monitor and address these violations. 

Speaking at the National Road Safety Month-24 event, Mr Shivakumar revealed that over the past three years, more than 6,000 driving licences have been revoked.

According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau, two-wheelers are most frequently involved in accidents. Mr Shivakumar stressed the importance of two-wheeler riders wearing helmets consistently. He cautioned the public against overconfidence, stating, "One should have confidence but not over-confidence. Life is precious, follow traffic rules. Don't indulge in footpath riding and signal jumping."

About a month ago, the east division of Bengaluru Traffic Police initiated a unique pilot program along the city's Information Technology corridor, covering areas such as Outer Ring Road and Whitefield. As part of this initiative, if any employee from an IT company was found breaking traffic rules, details of the violation were sent directly to their respective companies via email or WhatsApp.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (East Division - Traffic), Kuldeep Kumar Jain, explained, "We started this drive on a pilot basis in the east division of Bengaluru. So, if any of the IT company employees are caught violating traffic rules, information about the specific violation will be sent to their respective companies through email or WhatsApp. This is just to make them more aware and conscious of traffic rules and road safety while riding."