Navigating through chaos: Can data induce travel delight in Indian cities?

The marketing meme of Rahul Dravid, losing his otherwise patient demeanour while commuting in Bengaluru traffic, stands testimony to the impact traffic blockage can create on the human psyche. It can trigger dramatic behavioural change amplified by the blaring of horns, nausea due to the surrounding pollution, and the deteriorating road conditions created by incessant human activity in a perpetual rush. Changing weather conditions can further add to the misery of the long commute during peak hours in mega cities. But leveraging deeper insights from mobility and better use of city data such as traffic speed, road condition, pollution, weather, etc. to enhance commute experience, can reverse this trend easily.

Data-led solutions are essential for commuting in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, and New Delhi which have the dubious distinction of featuring among the top ten most congested cities in 2020 as per the TomTom Traffic Index. The cost of gridlock traffic in these cities was estimated at over $22 billion in 2018, which was approximately 90 percent of India’s railway budget. Traffic congestion not only inflicts loss of precious time but also leads to excess fuel burn and other opportunity costs. No wonder, many corporations have initiated flexible hours and options to work remotely, reducing future investments in cities like Bengaluru citing mainly traffic woes. In retrospect, working remotely became a new normal during the Covid-19 pandemic, with several technology companies claiming higher productivity and happier employees.

Most Indian cities often lack decision-making ability due to budgetary constraints, ambiguity in administrative functions, scattered and unorganised data, and lack of political will, derailing priority infrastructure. However, the burgeoning vehicular traffic and deteriorating quality of ride, has compelled megacities like Mumbai and Bengaluru to upgrade their road and transit infrastructure. But until the improvements are completed, ‘swalpa adjust maadi’ (Kannada for “kindly adjust”).