Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road to get redesigned bus priority lanes by year-end: Report

The initiative, previously halted due to metro construction, aims to improve bus commute efficiency amid ongoing traffic challenges.

Bengaluru’s traffic-clogged Outer Ring Road (ORR) is set to welcome back Bus Priority Lanes (BPL) after a two-year break, with the relaunch expected to take place post-November 2025, according to a report by Deccan Herald. The initiative, aimed at cutting down travel time for public transport users, was originally halted in 2022 due to ongoing metro construction along the corridor.

Bus priority lanes to be back in Bengaluru. (X/Maheshwar Rao.M, IAS)

The revival of BPL on the 17-kilometre stretch between KR Puram and Silk Board Junction, a key IT hub notorious for peak-hour traffic jams, is being led by the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).

Speaking to DH, BMTC Managing Director Ramachandran R confirmed the corporation's efforts to bring back the BPL on ORR. "We’ve written to all stakeholders and will hold meetings with BMRCL, BBMP, DULT, and the Bengaluru Traffic Police to finalize the plan," he said. Once implemented, the BPL is expected to reduce bus commute time by at least 20 minutes, offering a faster, more reliable alternative to private vehicles.

The previous BPL initiative on ORR was discontinued in 2022, as metro construction under Phase 2A (Silk Board to KR Puram) took up a major portion of the road. This forced other vehicles to spill over into the dedicated bus lane, often damaging the fibre-reinforced bollards meant to protect it.

However, with much of the metro work now complete, except for three remaining station areas, officials believe it’s the right time to revisit the plan. BMRCL MD and BBMP Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao assured full support for the revival.

Ramachandran noted that the BPL won’t simply resume from where it left off. “The metro has altered the road landscape. We’ll need to redesign the entire bus lane plan, taking into account the new road layout,” he told to the publication.

Bus priority lanes to be expanded

Alongside the ORR relaunch, BMTC is also reportedly planning to expand bus priority lanes to other high-density routes across Bengaluru. To support this, a new survey of traffic and bus movement patterns will be conducted, as the data from five years ago is now outdated.

Currently, over 300 BMTC buses operate daily along the ORR corridor between Silk Board and Hebbal, underlining the importance of this route in the city's public transport ecosystem.