‘I waste two hours in office to avoid traffic jams’

Traffic jams are nothing new to Mumbaikars and every single person, who commutes in this city faces the problem on a daily basis. But in the last few years, the situation has only worsened.

So much so that people who commute using their own vehicle spend extra hours in their offices after office timings, waiting for traffic congestion to ease. Most of them end up spending (or wasting?) around two hours in the office  — the time they should ideally be spending with their families.

The total area of Greater Mumbai is 450 sq km and the length of the roads is 1,975 km. The population in the island city has been stagnant for a decade ending 2001 at 33.38 lakh whereas the population of suburbs has increased annually by 2.5 % to reach a total of 86.38 lakh in 2001.

Corporate executives who work in the city and commute to their homes in suburbs in cars bear the brunt of the chaos on the city’s roads. Ajay Bhandari, marketing manager with Printed Memories, Dadar, Ranjeet Menon, associate director, Adfactor Public Relations, Churchgate and Sudhir Malhotra, president (commercial) Aegis Logistics, Lower Parel are three typical Mumbaikars, who after finishing their routine work in office, spend almost two hours waiting for traffic to ease.

Many commuters are now avoiding the use of a car to reach office and instead opting for public transport. As a solution to the problem seems far away.

“When there is high traffic congestion there is greater variability in speed. This results in higher acceleration of noise levels,” says anti-noise campaigner.

Transportation analyst Sudhir Badami said that it is not just road congestion that affects citizens badly. “It is transportation as a whole that is adversely affecting their quality of life and safety. Over crowding of suburban railway system is singularly responsible for 4000 deaths annually. The road congestion is responsible for the buses not plying frequently.

This delay leads to other problems for citizens, like reaching late to work. Travel is a major hassle and hazard in Mumbai.” He adds, “The solution lies significantly in augmenting the carrying capacity of road and rail public transport. This is possible by providing BRTS of high capacity and quality, giving comfort and safety.”

He also suggests options like separate walking and cycling lanes as a large majority of people won’t mind walking and cycle to work if given the option. “Their safety will ensure that the 2,500 annual fatalities on Mumbai roads will reduce and perhaps get eliminated when traffic calming measures are taken along with strict enforcement of the traffic rules.”

Five months ago, few people had organised Car Free Day to spread awareness about the traffic problem in the city. It aimed at nothing, but reducing the use of cars for a day with an objective of creating awareness about the benefits of fuel-free transportation and aspiring for a cleaner environment.

Sudhir Malhotra
President (Commercial),
Aegis Logistics

Office: Lower parel
Residence : Chembur
Work timings: 9am-6.30pm
Time spent in office to avoid rush-hour traffic:
1 - 2 hrs
I can leave office by 6.30pm, but don't do so. I usually leave office around 7.30 to avoid the traffic. Lately, the traffic scene has only gotten worse. The traffic even at late evenings is as bad as during rush hours. Therefore, I end up  waiting in office till late as I prefer to leave only after 8.30pm. The commute takes another hour and a half. Everyday, I end up wasting precious hours which I should ideally be spending with my family. There is very little I can do to avoid the traffic. My 15-year-old son often complains to me about not spending enough time with him at home.

Ajay Bhandari
Marketing Manager,
Printed Memories

Office: Worli
Residence: Santa Cruz
Work timings: 8am-6pm
Time spent in office to avoid rush-hour traffic:
2 - 2.30 hrs
I stay at Andheri near Bhavans College and till date there hasn't been a single day where the roads are without traffic or I have driven with ease. My wife is pregnant and she wants to reach home early and relax. But only to avoid the terrible traffic, she spends more time in office chatting with colleagues than at home. It's high time that the government acted to speed up the incomplete projects like Metro rail and Mono rail. This may help solve the road traffic congestion to some extent. People, who have to commute to the suburbs, waste a lot of time doing so.

Ranjeet Menon
Senior Manager,
Adfactor

Office: Churchgate
Residence: Malad
Work timings: 9am-6pm
Time spent in office to avoid rush-hour traffic:
1 - 1.30 hrs
Traffic congestion and the resulting lengthy commute, has had a terrible effect on me. Driving my car to work and back was getting too stressful, so I decided to try out public transport. However, I gave it up also after a few days. Auto rickshaws that I hailed, used to get stuck in traffic while the meter kept on running. It affected me more as even though it was a comfortable mode of travel, my monthly budget was affected by it. I have now gotten back to driving by my car. The state of public transport is bad in the city and needs an urgent rework. Roads too are in a bad shape.