Bangalore Traffic? Why would you want to visualize that? Isn’t it just terrible everywhere?

Well, yes. Bangalore is infamous for terrible traffic. I’ve probably spent most of my life in it (can’t confirm unless I get the data together and also visualize that).

Over the course of the last few weeks, I’ve been visualizing and working with a Kaggle dataset on Bangalore’s traffic. It records entries from 2022 to 2024, specifically across 8 neighborhoods and the 16 roads within them (2 roads per neighborhood). At each road/intersection, different metrics are recorded that highlight a fuller picture of traffic and commuting. This includes the traffic congestion levels, pedestrian count, safety metrics such as incident counts, and environmental impact.

There are more than 8000 records, allowing for an interesting dive into the data. In exploring the data, I have used charts and graphs, maps, and networks to visualize different facets of it. Through it all, I’ve learned a couple of things, and here’s some data to accompany it: Bangalore’s traffic is bad, yes, but it’s a lot more nuanced even in this mess.

“Don’t even say Silk Board. It’s a part of the city I’d never want to enter.”

In this hate affair with Bangalore traffic, there are some roads we often think of as being the biggest bottle necks in the city. An incredibly common one is Silk Board, which is a major bus stop and a pretty massive connecting road. It’s the butt of many jokes, and a junction that most people dread (source). I thought it’d be interesting to actually see what the data tells us.

Here’s a map and network that highlights the congestion levels. The thicker and dark red lines are the areas with a higher congestion level, while thinner and green lines represent lower traffic congestion.

Really? Silk Board’s traffic isn’t the worst? That can’t be real

Well, here’s the kicker. Silk Board’s traffic isn’t just low, it’s the lowest.

THE LOWEST!

I know. I didn’t believe it either.

Want more proof. Here’s a breakdown across each road.

There’s Koramangala, with Sony signal and Sarjapur road with the highest congestion levels, and silk board all the way at the bottom.

Didn’t think I’d see this day. Maybe the data just says this, but I will concede- driving through it is still an absolute nightmare.

So, is it the speed? Because I feel stuck at Silk Board.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Vehicle speed is definitely slower where congestion is higher, but not with the kind of margin you’d expect. Even though congestion at Silk Board is around 50% and Sarjapur around 90%, vehicle speed isn’t that far off. At Silk Board it’s around 43 kilometers per hour, and at Sarjapur it’s around 36 kilometers per hour. That’s not that big a deal. You can hover over each point on the dashboard to view the details.

Well. Alright. There’s enough about the traffic. But what about the safety? Traffic isn’t just hindering getting to places. It’s the overall urban planning of the city that gets annoying.

Well, that’s kind of it, wouldn’t you say. Walking in Bangalore is hard. Accidents are scary. Public transport is kind of terrible (admittedly I’m spoiled from having lived in Delhi and New York, but still).

So, what do we know about these roads beyond their congestion?

This is what led me to create the dashboard focusing on the specific roads and intersections, and then data about the congestion, public transport usage, incident reports and pedestrian and cyclist count.

Surprisingly, the roads with the highest congestion aren’t the ones with the most incidents. Instead, it’s the Indiranagar area and M.G Road area, part of the central business district region which have the highest incident count from 2022 to 2024.

As for pedestrian and cyclist count, the areas with lower congestion, name silk board and Hosur road (the electronic city neighborhood) have the greatest number of pedestrians and cyclists. This does bring up something to reflect about for residents, and also from an urban planning standpoint and prompting one to think about the walkability of an area, whether it’s necessary to rely on a vehicle and whether cycling could also work.

Here again I draw your attention to the Electronic City neighborhood which is a mini city of sorts within Bangalore. It is a well-planned region within an otherwise poorly planned city, with various residential complexes, tech parks and so on. This might point at what good planning can do for making a region more habitable for residents as pedestrians and cyclists.

The public transport is also interesting. 100 feet road and Anil Kumble circle rank as the roads with the highest public transport usage. I wondered if that might have something to do with the Bangalore metro stations, but South End circle and Trinity Circle, also two prominent metro stations rank at the bottom. I think a deeper analysis of public transport, perhaps with an inclusion of metro and bus data would help paint a better picture. If time permitted, and there was clearly available data of this nature, I would look into it.

Overall, yes, Bangalore traffic is terrible, but the data also suggests that there are complex patterns across the board, and they are definitely worth looking into, especially if you’re the one wading (yes, roads flood so you’d be wading), driving, cycling or walking through these streets.