Survey shows Bangalore motorists the worst

A survey by New Delhi based Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI Asia) has assigned Bangalore 30 out of 100 points for motorist behaviour, the worst among the seven cities surveyed in India. Motorist behaviour was one of the nine parameters considered by CAI Asia to determine walking infrastructure availability, known as walkability, of a city. The survey found that Bangalore motorists rarely stop for pedestrians to cross a road and often stop vehicles right on zebra crossings, leaving pedestrians little space to cross roads. Motorists also often drive their vehicles right on to the footpaths, encroaching upon the only exclusive zone for pedestrians. Even localities with schools are not spared. These factors, coupled with high vehicle speeds and wide roads, have led to pedestrians being consistently marginalised, with non-motorised transport set to account for only 25% of the road traffic by 2025, against 80% by motorists. The city also scored the lowest in another category – infrastructure for physically challenged persons – getting a score of 24 out of 100. The absence of ramps, lifts and tactile pavements made it difficult for physically challenged persons to cross roads or even walk on footpaths. Other Indian cities surveyed were Chennai, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Indore, Rajkot and Surat. Bangalore scored 45 for overall walkability index while Pune scored highest in India with a score of 54. The survey which was also carried out in 13 other Asian cities saw Hong Kong topping the walkability index with a score of 70.