Bengaluru: The proposed ban on two-wheelers on the Electronics City elevated corridor from Sept 11 could affect an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 commuters, many of them tech professionals who have relied on this signal-free stretch for their daily commute to Bengaluru’s IT hub for nearly 16 years.While an NHAI official said traffic police had decided to enforce the ban considering the safety of two-wheeler riders, the scale of dependence on the city’s first major elevated corridor is evident from toll data.More than 30,000 two-wheeler transactions are recorded at the toll plaza near Electronics City daily. Sources said between 15,000 and 18,000 two-wheeler owners buy monthly passes to travel between Silk Board and Electronics City or beyond.The proposed restriction will leave many commuters with little or no choice but to shift to the congested surface road, where riders travelling towards Electronics City may have to negotiate six to eight traffic signals.Signal-free commuteThe elevated corridor has remained popular among two-wheeler users partly because of concessional passes for regular commuters. A monthly pass costs Rs 785, a daily pass is priced at Rs 40, while a single trip costs Rs 25.It is the only stretch in Bengaluru where two-wheelers pay to use an elevated section of a National Highway.The restrictions are being introduced as the nearly two-decade concession agreement between Bangalore Elevated Tollway Pvt Ltd (BETPL) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is scheduled to end on Sept 10.BOX:Why Sept 11?A senior traffic police officer said the decision to push the ban on two-wheelers on the Electronics City flyover to Sept 11 was linked to the end of BETPL’s contract.“The two-decade contract with BETPL ends on Sept 10. This is the reason why the two-wheeler ban comes into effect from the morning of Sept 11. Earlier, BETPL officials said they would suffer losses if two-wheelers were banned from Sept 4, as on the other four flyovers in the city. Accepting their request, we postponed the ban to Sept 11,” the officer said.The operator has sought a further extension to toll collection for at least 100 more days, citing losses suffered during the Covid period. An NHAI official said the matter was before the Conciliation Committee of Independent Experts.Meanwhile, NHAI has floated a tender to select a new operator for the toll plazas.
