Netizens say, “This is exhausting and bad for health,” as BMTC bus breakdown brings Bengaluru Outer Ring Road to a complete standstill

A single bus breakdown was all it took to throw Bengaluru’s Outer Ring Road (ORR) into chaos on Tuesday evening. 

The BMTC electric bus stopped near the Ecospace junction during rush hour, creating a ripple effect that left thousands of commuters stranded for hours. 

Many spent more than two hours covering barely 10 to 12 kilometres as vehicles moved inch by inch along one of the city’s busiest corridors.

Bengaluru ORR Traffic Chaos: What Went Wrong

The trouble began around 4.30 pm when a BMTC bus broke down on the stretch near Ecospace, blocking a key lane during peak office traffic. 

The Bengaluru Traffic Police soon issued an advisory on X (formerly Twitter), warning drivers of “slow-moving traffic” between Bellandur and Marathahalli. But by then, it was too late.

Commuters took to social media to vent their frustration, sharing photos and videos of cars stuck bumper to bumper for kilometres. 

One user wrote, “Just one bus breaks down and the entire ORR comes to a halt. I’ve been stuck for two hours and haven’t even moved a kilometre.” Another said, “It took 2 hours 10 minutes to travel from Brookfield to Sarjapur Road, just 12 km. Pathetic traffic.”

The breakdown coincided with the evening rush when thousands of IT employees were heading home from offices in the tech corridor. 

With construction work and white-topping already limiting road space, the stranded bus left no room for vehicles to pass. The result was a complete gridlock stretching across Bellandur, Kadubeesanahalli, Devarabeesanahalli, and Marathahalli.

By 8.15 pm, traffic police managed to push the stalled bus to the side and restore some movement. The DCP (Traffic, South-East) posted an update saying, “Traffic chaos on ORR sorted! The stuck BMTC bus has been moved to ease congestion.”

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Bengaluru’s Traffic Woes Exposed Again

The incident once again highlighted how one minor disruption can cripple Bengaluru’s already strained road network.

The Outer Ring Road has long been notorious for its traffic jams, especially during peak hours. With service roads closed due to Metro construction and ongoing repair work, the road has lost much of its flexibility to handle sudden blockages.

Many residents have now called on companies in the IT corridor to allow remote or flexible work until the road infrastructure improves.

One commuter tweeted, “Please advise companies in ORR to stop forcing work from office till the roads are ready. Stuck at Marathahalli for over an hour. This is exhausting and bad for health.”

Urban experts say the episode is another reminder that Bengaluru’s traffic system lacks resilience. A single breakdown should not paralyse an entire corridor, yet that is exactly what happened. Better incident management, quicker towing services, and alternative routes could help prevent such gridlocks in the future.

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