Last-mile connectivity serious issue for commuters in Bangalore.

BENGALURU: Air pollution in Bengaluru is mainly caused by the exhausts of the vehicle. But that has not affected the city from adding private vehicles each year, reaching around 76.2 lakh as of July 31. 

A major reason for the public to be dependent on private vehicles is because of the number that has doubled between 2007 and 2017 and recently taxis, have become inadequate and unreliable mode of public transport network, especially lacking in the last-mile connectivity.

“My office is about 12 kilometres from where I live in Whitefield so I would have liked to take a suburban train or the Metro, but neither have stations near my house or office. 

I commute either by BMTC buses or by carpooling. Of late, I have been leaning towards carpooling because it is difficult to get a seat on the bus and last-mile connectivity is also a problem,” says Pravir Bagrodia.

Abhishek R, who resides close to Hebbal, travels 24 kilometres on his two-wheeler every day to his office which is located in Whitefield. “My work timings are very different and since buses heading towards my office from home are not very frequent, I prefer to take a bike. 

Even if a Metro station comes up in Whitefield, I will not be able to make use of it as there is no feeder bus service from my house to Goraguntepalya, the closest Metro station,” he said.

Tara V, who lives near the international airport and travels 30 km every day, says while she travels through the means of BMTC buses, especially the Vajra service to get around, last-mile connectivity has become a serious problem. 

“I live about 4km from the main road and I find it very difficult to complete this last step of the commute after 7pm as there are no autos near the bus stand. Most of the time, I take buses only towards the city and prefer to take a shared cab on the way back,” she said.