Bengaluru Rains Pushed Average Commute Time Up By 62% In August

Bengaluru is infamous for its traffic snarls and the rains have only made it worse. As a result of this, the last week of August saw travel time for Bengalureans shoot up by an average of 30%, with some areas recording 62% more travel time on the rainy days as compared to the non-rainy days. Additionally, the average time to reach home from the office, which was an average of around 42 minutes in February, has gradually increased to 60 minutes, as more employees are returning to offices. However, the beginning of August witnessed the number spike to over 75 minutes, indicating the combined impact of return to work and rains, according to a study by SaaS-based office commute platform MoveInSync.
According to the study, the return commute back home from offices in Bellandur recorded the largest increase in travel time during rains, at 62%. While the commute from Whitefield recorded only a 48% spike in travel time, it remains the longest travel commute in the city during the rains at an average of 102 minutes, as against Bellandur at 86 minutes. On non-rainy days, office commute to Bellandur and Whitefield was recorded at 53 minutes and 69 minutes respectively.
Kadubeesanahalli and Mahadevapura recorded the third and fourth highest spikes at 45% and 33% with travel times recorded at 75 minutes and 69 minutes respectively on rainy days. While the rains have had a significant impact in Bengaluru, the study also reports day-wise differences in commute time across the city during a downpour between 5 pm and 8 pm. The study suggests that Tuesdays and Wednesdays recorded 20 minutes more travel time on an average, while Mondays remain the best day to travel to and from work.
While these numbers are ominous signs for the city of Bengaluru, it also points to the fact that the city is now going back to the pre-COVID state. It also shows the work that needs to go in to develop the city’s infrastructure to support the Silicon Valley’s enterprises, said Deepesh Agarwal, Cofounder and CEO of MoveInSync.