Bengaluru metro, roads see post-holiday rush after break from traffic during long weekend

As Bengaluru's office-goers and students returned from the holidays, the city faced a familiar onslaught of traffic congestion.

After a brief respite over the long weekend, Bengaluru's infamous traffic woes came roaring back on Monday morning, much to the dismay of weary commuters.

The sudden congestion in Bengaluru after the long weekend highlighted the stark difference between the holiday calm and the usual traffic woes residents face.(PTI)

Reddit users took to the platform early in the day to share their frustration, dread, and a touch of humour as the city's roads filled up once again. One user summed up the collective mood with a post titled, “Back to business from tomorrow!! Thoughts,” triggering a flood of relatable replies.

“​Why would you post my Monday morning view on a Sunday evening? I was having a good day. We were all having a good day,” a user wrote.

And then came the real-world proof. Another user posted a screenshot from a navigation app, showing a commute estimate of 1 hour 53 minutes to cover 35 kilometres on a two-wheeler, a painful reminder that the long weekend calm had vanished without a trace.

Elsewhere, a commuter reported taking 48 minutes to travel a mere 6 kilometres, a route that usually takes 30. “Just Monday things,” a resident remarked, adding, “I’m lucky in that matter, the E-City flyover helps me out of traffic.”

A resident also posted visuals of crowds at the city's Namma Metro on Monday morning, as well as traffic on the streets, writing, “Monday Morning : Huge rush on road and metro as people return to Bengaluru to get back to work after Dasara Festival.”

The sudden surge in traffic is being attributed to the return of regular office-goers and school reopenings after the Gandhi Jayanti and weekend holidays.

While traffic congestion is nothing new in Bengaluru, the contrast between the peaceful long weekend and Monday’s chaos hit commuters particularly hard this time. The city’s residents are once again bracing themselves for a week of slow-moving roads and long commutes.