Haven't I told y'all, that of late I've given up driving on weekdays? Yes, you heard that right. I've boycotted my car and therefore driving on working days. Why, you might ask, have I given up the pleasure of driving on weekdays?
Not rocket science this. The answer is simple, it's the ever-boding, omnipresent Bangalore traffic, you see. Having driven to my current office location daily for the past 15 years, I'd had enough. I was at the precipice of going mad and driving everyone mad around me! This had to stop. Therefore, I had to make a decision and arrived at two options to choose from - a) boycott driving and figure alternative ways of reaching office or b) boycott work and figure alternative ways of earning money.
Surprisingly, the choice was not easy to make! Grudgingly, I chose a), but b) did die fighting, I must report.
In a city like Bangalore, contrary to popular notion, getting around is not such a daunting task. With the right amount of patience, health and cost consciousness and adventurism, one can get from point A to point B. For everyone's benefit, here is a list of choices available in Bangalore (though some don't apply to a few areas):
Blogs Directory
Not rocket science this. The answer is simple, it's the ever-boding, omnipresent Bangalore traffic, you see. Having driven to my current office location daily for the past 15 years, I'd had enough. I was at the precipice of going mad and driving everyone mad around me! This had to stop. Therefore, I had to make a decision and arrived at two options to choose from - a) boycott driving and figure alternative ways of reaching office or b) boycott work and figure alternative ways of earning money.
Surprisingly, the choice was not easy to make! Grudgingly, I chose a), but b) did die fighting, I must report.
In a city like Bangalore, contrary to popular notion, getting around is not such a daunting task. With the right amount of patience, health and cost consciousness and adventurism, one can get from point A to point B. For everyone's benefit, here is a list of choices available in Bangalore (though some don't apply to a few areas):
- Ride sharing apps - Uber, Ola, etc
- Car-pooling apps - QuickRide, Zify, etc
- Bike hire apps - Bounce, Vogo, DriveEasy, etc
- Cycle hire apps - Yulu, Bounce, etc
- BMTC buses - this has an app
- KSRTC buses - applicable to only a few areas (for ex. Majestic to Yelahanka)
- Airport buses
- Metro - currently only two lines, but bound to expand soon
- Indian Railway trains - a skeletal suburban service exists, but about to be expanded
Over the last year or so that I've deployed my choice of no driving (on weekdays, mind you), I've used almost every option listed above. I've also combined options available. Having tried all modes of transport out there, I've come to the conclusion that my my most preferred (speed+cost effective) option is as follows:
Home to office: BMTC bus combined with either Yulu or Metro
Office to home: Metro combined with Train
And I'm seeing fantastic results of not driving. No longer that tired after reaching home, not irritable. And a great feeling of helping reduce traffic.
During my journeys, I have observed many things...that I will share in subsequent blogs. So watch this space!
Comments