Curbing Air Pollution in Bengaluru

In Bengaluru, vehicular pollution and dust are the major contributors to air pollution, and as listed earlier in this series, they cause several health and environmental problems. While the dust is mostly from construction activities, the air currents and constant vehicular motion keep the pollutants in circulation all the time.

There is no single solution to mitigate air pollution given the number of government agencies involved and the heterogenous mix of vehicle users and commuters. In this article, we look at the role individual road users play.

On an average, 6734 BMTC buses ferry 49,50,000 passengers in 79677 bus trips across the city. As on March 31st 2014, there were 50,50,057 vehicles registered in Bangalore city of which the two wheelers, cars and jeeps were 44,74,722. As a single unit, a two wheeler maybe adding a lower pollution load but the fact that there are as many as 34,79,208 two wheelers in the city means that collectively, two wheeler riders contribute to air pollution as much as or more than other vehicle users.

Our autophilia shows when a less populous India beats China in automobile travel according to a study, which also says there is no correlation between salary and car usage. Though the need for one to buy a vehicle may vary, one common reason is the convenience it provides - that of not being at the mercy of someone else when one needs to commute.

That being said, when the cons of driving individual vehicles, including increasing air pollution, traffic jams, fuel costs, ill-tempered motorists and reducing parking spots etc. are listed down, maybe it is time to take a step back and consciously make a decision to avoid being a part of the problem - thousands are doing it but there is no significant impact because a larger number are still using their own vehicles to commute.

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