2 weeks ago
Bengaluru Founder Walks Home After 90-Minute Traffic for 3 Km
A man named Soveek Ray lives in Bengaluru, a big city in India that is famous for technology.
One day, he wanted to drive to a store that was very close to his home.
The trip should have taken only about ten to twenty minutes.
But the roads were so full of cars that it took him one and a half hours to go just three kilometres.
He got very tired of waiting in the traffic.
So he decided to park his car at the store and walk all the way back home instead.
He also said the roads were in bad shape.
Many other people said they have the same problem every day.
Some people even said they decided to leave the city because the traffic was so bad.
Mr. Ray wants the city's leaders to fix the problem so that businesses can work better.
Bengaluru-based founder Soveek Ray posted an Instagram video complaining about spending 90 minutes in traffic to cover a three-kilometre stretch.
The trip to a store in Vartur and back was expected to take 10-20 minutes but took 1.5 hours, so Ray left the car and walked home.
Ray, who has lived in Bengaluru for 10 years, said delivery partners, retailers, employees and customers face the same ordeal daily.
He urged Bengaluru's politicians to do better and care about the city, saying he remains bullish on the place despite the challenges.
Social media users shared similar experiences, including a 3.5-hour drive over 10 km and a resident who left the city after 15 years; one user blamed a lack of lane discipline.
- Who
- Soveek Ray, a Bengaluru-based founder who has lived in the city for 10 years
- What
- Spent 90 minutes in traffic covering a three-kilometre stretch, then left his car at a store in Vartur and walked home; he posted his frustration in an Instagram video
- Where
- Bengaluru (Bangalore), India, on the road to a store in Vartur
- When
- Not specified in the articles
- Why
- Because of heavy traffic congestion and poor road conditions that Ray says make it difficult for businesses to operate
Demand Better From Politicians
Leave the City
How to respond to Bengaluru's traffic crisis
Demand Better From Politicians
Ray says people like him remain bullish on Bengaluru and advises politicians to do better, arguing long-time residents should stay rather than leave.
Leave the City
Some social media users who could not bear the commute left the city, with one saying it is 'equally worse for daily commute' despite good weather.
What causes the traffic jams
Demand Better From Politicians
Ray highlights poor, shabby road conditions and politicians who do not care about the city as the underlying problem.
Leave the City
A user who was in the jam said it was caused by vehicles piling up in the opposite lane and bottlenecks, blaming a lack of lane discipline among drivers.
Key facts
- Protagonist
- Soveek Ray, Bengaluru-based founder
- Time stuck in traffic
- 90 minutes
- Distance covered
- 3 kilometres
- Expected trip time
- 10-20 minutes
- Actual trip time
- 1.5 hours
- Destination
- A store in Vartur
- Years living in Bengaluru
- 10 years
- Platform
- Instagram (video: 'The hidden cost of building a business in India, especially Bangalore')
Quotes
Soveek Ray
Founder of a Bengaluru-based tech company
“"As founders, we deal with a lot of things, but this is something no one prepares you for. We were supposed to drive to a store in Vartur, drop off a few products, and come back. A 10-20 minute job. Instead, we spent 1.5 hours trying to cross a three-kilometre stretch. Unbelievable."”
NDTV










