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After being stuck in a 2-hour jam, EaseMyTrip co-founder pledges Rs 1 crore to fix Bengaluru traffic

After being stuck in a 2-hour jam, EaseMyTrip co-founder pledges Rs 1 crore to fix Bengaluru traffic

Indian Express6 days ago
Frustrated by spending more than two hours to travel just 11 kilometers on Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road (ORR), EaseMyTrip co-founder Prashant Pitti has pledged Rs 1 crore to fix the city's chronic traffic problems with the help of artificial intelligence and satellite data.
In a post shared on X, Pitti shared about being stuck for 100 minutes at a single intersection on Saturday night, with no traffic signal or police presence to manage the chaos. 'I don't want one more Bengaluru traffic meme or rant. I want to fix it,' he wrote.
Further, Pitti cited Google Maps' recently launched 'Road Management Insight' tool, which provides city-level traffic data through BigQuery. He suggested using AI and satellite imagery to highlight the city's worst choke points to support better urban planning and traffic management.
Pitti offered to fund up to Rs 1 crore toward the initiative personally. This includes covering the cost of hiring one or two experienced ML/AI engineers, paying for Google Maps API usage, obtaining satellite imagery, and setting up the GPU infrastructure required to process large-scale traffic data.
'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. I will start this project, when BTP/BBMP: Open their raw feeds or API access AND names a team, committed to acting on the insights we generate,' he wrote.
Urging public support, Pitti asked citizens to tag officials, encourage tech professionals to contribute, and help amplify the initiative. 'Bangalore is India's tech future. And the people making it happen deserve much better,' he wrote.
See the post here:
I am committing INR 1 Cr to find Bangalore Choke-Points via Google Maps & AL.
11 km → 2.15 hours in Bangalore Traffic on Saturday late night!
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… pic.twitter.com/b8Nf5vnUKf
— Prashant Pitti (@ppitti) July 14, 2025
Several users appreciated Pitti's initiative, with one commenting, 'Kudos to the effort.' Another user wrote, 'Hats off to you for this cracking initiative! I'm no AI/ML whiz, but I can definitely lend a hand with those meetings with Bengaluru Traffic Police and BBMP.'
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