12 km in 2 hours: Bengaluru’s ORR traffic crawls for hours after bus breaks down in middle of road –video

Bengaluru Traffic:The breakdown occurred right in the middle of the road, choking the carriageway and causing delays across major stretches.

Bengaluru’s Outer Ring Road (ORR) was brought to a standstill on Tuesday evening after a BMTC electric bus broke down near Ecospace Junction, causing a massive traffic jam. The breakdown, which occurred around 4:30 pm, led to gridlock stretching several kilometres, severely impacting key routes in the city’s IT corridor. Commuters were left stranded, with some taking nearly two hours to cover just 12 km.

Commuters were left stranded, with some taking nearly two hours to cover just 12 km.(Screengrab@Karnatakaportfolio)

Traffic police confirmed the incident, posting an advisory on X (formerly Twitter) at 4:43 pm, alerting motorists about slow-moving traffic in the areas surrounding Ecospace Junction. The breakdown occurred right in the middle of the road, choking the carriageway and causing delays across major stretches, including Marathahalli, Kadubeesanahalli, Devarabisanahalli, and Bellandur.

As per a report by TOI, several officers were quickly deployed to move the bus to the side, but the situation continued to worsen as vehicles crawled at a snail's pace. Despite efforts to clear the road, traffic remained at a standstill for nearly an hour.

The gridlock persisted for several more hours, leaving many commuters frustrated with long delays.

One commuter on X shared, “It took 2 hours 10 minutes from Brookfield to Sarjapur Road, just 12 km.” Others echoed similar frustrations, with some highlighting how the bus breakdown seemed to paralyse the entire city’s traffic system. “One bus stopped on a road made the whole of Bengaluru cry for hours,” wrote another user.

The situation was further escalated by ongoing Namma Metro construction in the area, with several partial road closures between 9th Main Road and 5th Main Road Junction. This work, which began last week, has narrowed the carriageway further, adding to the already congested stretch.