Layoff jitters in Bengaluru: As techies flock to office, traffic spirals on Outer Ring Road
As job insecurity grips the tech sector, especially in the wake of AI-led downsizing, a curious trend has emerged: travel time on all working days of the week has increased on the Outer Ring Road (ORR), with Wednesday turning out to be the worst day to be on the road!
Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP), who analyse the vehicle-parking data from 26 tech parks on ORR, said there was a 20-45% rise in vehicular flow at tech parks in June 2024 compared to June 2024.
The surge in traffic on ORR (from Silk Board Junction to KR Pura), Sarjapur Road, and the roads leading to Electronics City has been more glaring in the past three weeks as layoffs have become near-daily headlines. The talk in HR circles is that more employees are choosing to be seen in office rather than risk being labelled dispensable while working remotely.
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"I can't afford to be invisible," said Rahul Shetty (name changed), a senior developer who now makes it a point to show up at his office in a tech park near Doddanekundi, on ORR, at least four times a week.
"These days, optics matter. Being seen at your desk might ensure job security," he added.
This line of thinking, despite lacking definitive data to substantiate it, is resulting in a bumper-to-bumper nightmare on ORR. So much so that the new traffic police chief, joint commissioner (traffic) Karthik Reddy, proposed a work-from-home arrangement for tech employees every Wednesday, during a recent high-level coordination meeting involving officials from BBMP, BMTC, and representatives of the Greater Bengaluru IT and Companies Association.
"Peak traffic is observed between 9am and 10am on all weekdays, but Wednesday stands out because of an increase in office attendance by IT employees. We've recommended that tech firms either allow work-from-home every Wednesday or shift office timings to start by 7.30am and end earlier in the day," Reddy told TOI.
The vehicle-parking data collected by BTP paints a stark picture. In June 2024, an average of 82,168 vehicles were recorded on Wednesdays.
This June, the number jumped to a staggering 1.2 lakh — a 45% increase. The spike, officials believe, isn't just about the corporate mandate to return to office but also speaks to employee anxiety.
Motorists seek better infra, not just WFH
Traffic police's suggestion to corporate head honchos to put in place a work-from-home arrangement for tech employees every Wednesday has turned the spotlight on Bengaluru's broken civic infrastructure, which techies and other commuters insist must be fixed on priority.
Suma Santosh, a data analyst working with a multinational company in Bellandur, said: "Work-from-home for a single day is only a temporary band-aid. The deeper problem lies in poor pedestrian infrastructure. I live barely 2.5km from my office, but I'm forced to take my two-wheeler because walking is unsafe and inconvenient. If proper footpaths and crossings existed, at least 25% of two-wheeler traffic could be cut down.
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Others pointed to the uncoordinated construction activities choking the tech corridor. "From Metro construction to BWSSB's pipeline works to road widening, everything is happening at the same time," said Vikram Naik, project lead in a company located in Marathahalli. "There's no synchronisation between agencies. This chaos is what's fuelling peak-hour gridlocks."
A BBMP official, who attended the recent coordination meeting, admitted that simultaneous infrastructure works have exacerbated congestion.
"We're working with BMRCL and BWSSB to ensure better coordination in project planning. We're also exploring the feasibility of creating parallel service roads or alternative routes to divert traffic."
While tech firms have shown preliminary support for staggered timings and hybrid policies, sources say the implementation needs logistical planning. Sridhar M, an HR executive with a tech major, said: "Work-from-home arrangement on Wednesdays is doable but optional.
Some roles demand physical presence. We're open to encouraging early shift starts, and promoting carpooling and BMTC usage among our employees.
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With tech zones such as Bellandur, Marathahalli, Kadubeesanahalli, and Devarabisanahalli continuing to bear the brunt of urban congestion, the coming weeks will test how well coordination, policy tweaks, and corporate cooperation can collectively decongest the city's IT backbone.
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