Jamming thoughts

Travelling alone by car is a sin.
Why? It takes too much space on the roads.
The bigger the car the worse it is.
One car blocks roughly the space of four bikes.
So unless there are four people (at least) in a car, we are blocking resources which can be used more effectively.

Btw, bikes pollute more than new Euro IV cars (Source). So the problem is not straight forward.

There are a few things to consider:

What is the real problem? Road congestion or air pollution?
In Bangalore, it is road congestion. And it compounds air pollution. A car caught in congestion pollutes four times more than a running one (Source).

So if we have more free flowing traffic it is a big win. That means bikes are a decent option, and cars are not bad if fully utilized. Pooling in any form would help. Walking and cycling really are the best, but may not be feasible for everyone.

Pooling is kind of helpful in another way. One shares the stress of commuting and makes us human beings who snap less and who do not yell at the already poor pedestrian and the occasional cyclist.

Sad point is how the world sees it as a sign of success if you consume more resources and it may be perceived as below dignity for people to travel by cycle. Applause to those who have persevered cycling in Bangalore and because of their own profile are slowly making cycling be seen as cool and desirable.

Sad again that the right things have to be packaged as cool for most of us to accept it.

On a happier note, I hear less honking nowadays than I used to. People in Bangalore seem to be maturing to the traffic problem now. Cheers!