Bengaluru is infamous for its traffic and hours-long traffic jams. The IT city was among the two Indian cities that were named among the world's ten worst traffic-hit cities in 2023. The same year, it was also named the second most congested city in the world. Rapid urbanisation, poor planning, and limited public transport options are just some reasons why people find the city's roads choked daily during peak rush hours. In the face of this, Google Maps has now confirmed that it is sometimes quicker to walk than to drive from point A to B in the IT city.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), user Ayush Singh shared a Google Maps screenshot which showed the time it takes to walk vs the time it takes to drive from Brigade Metropolis to KR Puram Railway Station - a distance of approximately 6 kilometres. According to the image, driving between the two points would take a person 44 minutes, while walking would be marginally quicker at 42 minutes. Sharing the pic, Mr Singh wrote, "This happens only in Bangalore."
Take a look below:
Since being shared, the post has accumulated more than 626,000 views and over 14,000 likes. In the comments section, while some users agreed that Bengaluru's traffic is tiring, others countered Mr Singh's "only in Bengaluru" narrative.
"Same story across many metro cities in the world," wrote one user. "Mumbai and Delhi also same situation during peak," said another.
"If time is so important to you, then I'd like to tell you that KR Puram is 3rd metro station from Garudacharpalya. Next time you can try it," suggested a third user.
One user called Bengaluru "Traffic capital of India". "Stop blaming start using public transport which can take you there in 13 mins," commented another user.
"While comparing the walk with the drive, you forgot to notice the public transport only 13 minutes. We often forget that the right solution to traffic is public transport," added another.
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Meanwhile, speaking of Bengaluru traffic, earlier this week, an entrepreneur suggested borrowing an idea from China to help residents deal with daily traffic snarls. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), user Paras Chopra shared a screenshot of a news article describing how, in Beijing, commuters stuck in traffic jams can call for a "rescue". The article explains that in Beijing, you can pay someone $60 to rescue you from traffic. "They pick you up on a motorbike and someone else drives your car to its destination," the article read.
Sharing the screenshot, Mr Chopra wrote, "Bangalore founders, drop that saas idea and build this instead". His post garnered mixed reactions from social media users.
