Only in Bengaluru: Google Maps shows it's faster to walk than drive 6 km in IT capital

Sometimes, it is quicker to walk than to drive from point A to B in Bengaluru.

Updated on: Jul 26, 2024, 13:35:50 IST

Edited by Sanya Jain

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Google Maps has confirmed what many Bengaluru residents already know to be true - sometimes, it is quicker to walk than to drive from point A to B in the Silicon Valley of India.

Traffic jam on one side of the Mysuru Road as private vehicle drivers' call for a city-wide bandh over their various demands, in Bengaluru. (ANI)

Commuters lose hours of productivity every day while stuck in Bengaluru’s infamous traffic jams. The city’s transformation into the IT capital of India brought thousands of professionals to Bengaluru - but its infrastructure is ill-equipped to deal with the influx. Rapid urbanisation, poor planning, limited public transport options are just some reasons behind Bengaluru’s congested roads and peak-hour traffic.

X user Ayush Singh yesterday shared a Google Maps screenshot which shows the time it takes to walk vs the time it takes to drive from Brigade Metropolis to KR Puram Railway Station - a distance of approximately 6 km.

According to his screenshot, driving between the two points would take a person 44 minutes. Contrary to what one might expect, walking would be marginally quicker at 42 minutes.

“This happens only in Bangalore,” Singh wrote while sharing the screenshot.

Take a look at the post:

His post is going steadily viral with over 3 lakh views in a day on the microblogging platform.

While many agreed that Bengaluru’s traffic is tiring, others countered his “only in Bengaluru” narrative.

“Same story across many metro cities in the world,” wrote one person in the comments section.

“Mumbai and Delhi also have the same situation during peak,” X user Abhilash said.

One person called Bengaluru the “Traffic Capital of India.” On the other hand, some encouraged Singh to take public transport to avoid choked roads.

Yesterday, a Bengaluru-based CEO posted a solution to deal with the city’s traffic. Paras Chopra borrowed an idea from Beijing where commuters stuck in traffic can dial in a ‘rescue’ for $60. Thereafter, a person on a motorbike would pick up the stranded commuter, while another would drive his car back safely to its destination.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More