As Bengaluru grapples with chronic traffic congestion, driven by rapid urbanisation and a booming IT industry, Prashant Pitti, co-founder of EaseMyTrip, has come up with an initiative to solve the crisis. Mr Pitti has pledged Rs 1 crore to identify and fix the Garden City's choke points using artificial intelligence (AI) and Google Maps data.
Mr Pitti took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his idea, having grown frustrated after spending over two hours covering just 11 kilometres on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) over the weekend.
"I was stuck at one choke-point at ORR, where I spent 100 mins struggling to understand why there is no traffic-light or cop here! But I don't want one more “Bengaluru Traffic Memes or Rant”. I WANT TO FIX IT," wrote Mr Pitti.
"I am willing to spend INR 1 Crore on this project by funding: 1-2 senior ML/AI engineers. And providing budget for using Google Maps API calls, Satellite Imagery & GPUs."
After receiving significant interest from users, Mr Pitti shared a Google form for individuals to contact him and share the expertise they can bring to the table.
See the post here:
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As of the last update, the post had received over 4,000 likes and hundreds of comments, with the majority lauding the move whilst others exploring ways how the initiative could be implemented on the ground.
"Good initiative! Honestly, Bengaluru needs good roads, free from congestion," said one user while another added: "Fantastic commitment and it will be truly a replicable civic achievement in the making, when (and not IF) you succeed."
A third commented: "Better you contact MPs like @Tejasvi_Surya and @PCMohanMP atleast they may listen to you. Talking to the traffic police will give you no results."
A fourth said: "We need more citizens to be part of Namma Bengaluru Improvements. Thank you Prashant."
Being the tech capital of the country, Bengaluru's population has surged rapidly, with over 13 million residents and millions of vehicles clogging its roads. Narrow streets, inadequate public transport, and ongoing infrastructure projects exacerbate the issue.
Peak-hour commutes can stretch hours, impacting productivity and quality of life. Despite initiatives like metro expansions and traffic management apps, challenges persist due to poor urban planning and high vehicle density.
