Whitefield may have developed into a self-sustaining suburb of the City — but in terms of public transport, there's still a long way to go.
Not only is the connectivity to the locality from other parts of the City fairly patchy, but it's quite difficult to get around within the area as well. Although there are bus routes to and within Whitefield, they're neither extensive nor frequent.
As for the autorickshaw drivers, they seem to ply on a rate system of their own device, taking advantage of the fact that people who live and work in Whitefield rarely have other options.
On the positive side, there are enough Volvo buses that ply from Whitefield to the central business district and areas along the southern portion of Outer Ring Road — like Banashankari — are fairly well-connected as well.
But Nithyakanth V, an ITprofessional who works in one of the locality's tech-parks, feels that for the large part, commuting to the suburb from places in the north and west of Bangalore is a nightmare. "I live in Hennur and getting to work by bus is a huge problem.
The buses are very spaced out, sometimes coming only once an hour. And given that they don't stick to any specific timings, it's impossible to reach a place according to schedule. Generally, people have to take a bus to a mid-point — like KR Puram — and lose time in the bargain,"he explains.
Inside Whitefield, most buses tend to stick to arterial roads — Varthur Main Road and Whitefield Road, for instance — but the interiors of the neighbourhood aren't particularly easy to access.
However, Nithyakanth points out, "Technically speaking, large portions of Whitefield are village areas. Professionals generally travel to the places where there are conglomerations of offices, like ITPL and GR Tech Park. And those who live in the suburb tend to have their two-wheelers. So, the fact that buses only travel on the main roads isn't much of an inconvenience."
This problem is compounded by the fact that with the lack of prepaid stands and adequate policing, autorickshaw drivers here operate on their own terms. Madan, a professional who works in Whitefield, complains, "The autorickshaw drivers seem to simply look at someone and decide on a fare accordingly.
The concept of a metre practically doesn't exist — for a distance of five kilometres, they could charge Rs 100 or more. This sort of cheating is rampant the moment you cross KR Puram and enter the Whitefield area."
The other option for commuters are the private buses which do make the rounds around areas like Phoenix MarketCity and ITPL — but as Prarthana, a professional, points out, these aren't a popular option.
"At the end of the day, they don't ply legally. Besides, if recent occurrences have proved anything, it's that taking this sort of transport — especially after a certain hour — is anything but safe," she says.
The areas which strongly need improvement, concludes Nithyakanth, are the bus services from different points of the City to the office-locations in Whitefield.
"Organising decent connectivity to these points, as well as ensuring that the bus drivers stick to fixed timings — since they often delay leaving the first stop of their route —
will make the situation much better," he sums up.
Not only is the connectivity to the locality from other parts of the City fairly patchy, but it's quite difficult to get around within the area as well. Although there are bus routes to and within Whitefield, they're neither extensive nor frequent.
As for the autorickshaw drivers, they seem to ply on a rate system of their own device, taking advantage of the fact that people who live and work in Whitefield rarely have other options.
On the positive side, there are enough Volvo buses that ply from Whitefield to the central business district and areas along the southern portion of Outer Ring Road — like Banashankari — are fairly well-connected as well.
But Nithyakanth V, an ITprofessional who works in one of the locality's tech-parks, feels that for the large part, commuting to the suburb from places in the north and west of Bangalore is a nightmare. "I live in Hennur and getting to work by bus is a huge problem.
The buses are very spaced out, sometimes coming only once an hour. And given that they don't stick to any specific timings, it's impossible to reach a place according to schedule. Generally, people have to take a bus to a mid-point — like KR Puram — and lose time in the bargain,"he explains.
Inside Whitefield, most buses tend to stick to arterial roads — Varthur Main Road and Whitefield Road, for instance — but the interiors of the neighbourhood aren't particularly easy to access.
However, Nithyakanth points out, "Technically speaking, large portions of Whitefield are village areas. Professionals generally travel to the places where there are conglomerations of offices, like ITPL and GR Tech Park. And those who live in the suburb tend to have their two-wheelers. So, the fact that buses only travel on the main roads isn't much of an inconvenience."
This problem is compounded by the fact that with the lack of prepaid stands and adequate policing, autorickshaw drivers here operate on their own terms. Madan, a professional who works in Whitefield, complains, "The autorickshaw drivers seem to simply look at someone and decide on a fare accordingly.
The concept of a metre practically doesn't exist — for a distance of five kilometres, they could charge Rs 100 or more. This sort of cheating is rampant the moment you cross KR Puram and enter the Whitefield area."
The other option for commuters are the private buses which do make the rounds around areas like Phoenix MarketCity and ITPL — but as Prarthana, a professional, points out, these aren't a popular option.
"At the end of the day, they don't ply legally. Besides, if recent occurrences have proved anything, it's that taking this sort of transport — especially after a certain hour — is anything but safe," she says.
The areas which strongly need improvement, concludes Nithyakanth, are the bus services from different points of the City to the office-locations in Whitefield.
"Organising decent connectivity to these points, as well as ensuring that the bus drivers stick to fixed timings — since they often delay leaving the first stop of their route —
will make the situation much better," he sums up.